


How Can I Resist Ya?

by skylarkblue



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Accidental Marriage, Domestic Fluff, Drunk karaoke, F/M, Fake Marriage, Fluff and Angst, Forehead Kisses, Las Vegas Wedding, Road Trips, Sharing a Bed, Trapped In Elevator
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:42:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 76,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26876125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skylarkblue/pseuds/skylarkblue
Summary: Batgirl and Red Hood are investigating a child smuggling ring across the United States when they have to go undercover as themselves in Vegas to track down the villains. After a party-fuelled night, they find themselves getting married. It's when they get back to Gotham that the real trouble starts. A road trip, a baby, and a series of unfortunate events later, they might just be falling in love for real.
Relationships: Stephanie Brown/Jason Todd
Comments: 140
Kudos: 249





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I take the "sparks joy" approach to DC Canon. This is set in a universe where Stephanie is Batgirl, Jason is Red Hood, and a whole bunch of things did (or didn't) happen as far as I'm concerned. If you can look past my playing with DC Canon, I think you'll be along for an enjoyable ride.  
> This will hopefully update weekly.

“Do you, Stephanie Brown, take Jason Todd to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do.”

“And do you, Jason Todd, take Stephanie Brown to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do.”

“By the power vested in me by the state of Nevada, I pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Stephanie stared at Jason and wondered how the fuck she got here.

Actually, no, that wasn’t quite true. She knew exactly how she got here - they’d been at the bar, and one of those stupid mobsters had started hitting on her, and Jason and walked himself right up to her, acted like he was protecting her decency or whatever, and had declared, “Excuse me, that’s my fiance.”

“Jason, what are you doing?” She had asked. This question had been ignored by both Jason and the stupid mafioso, who had stopped hitting on her long enough to buy them a round of drinks. And another. And another. And then they’d been invited back to the mafia’s table, where there had been even more drinks, and when Dominic - the mafia guy - had told the rest of the mafia that they were Jay and Steph from Gotham and they were engaged, somehow they’d all ended up at the chapel.

And now she was here, staring into Jason Todd’s very blue eyes.

She’d done worse things in her life.

He leaned in and kissed her hard, and she had the pleasure of listening to twenty drunk Italians cheer them on. She slipped him a little tongue because she was tipsy and honestly, it had been a while since she’d had any action. There was the flash of a camera and more cheering. As she pulled away, the Italians hooted and hollered and Dominic came up and clapped Jason on the back, and she almost forgot why she was in Vegas in the first place.

“Drinks?” Dominic asked, pointing at each of them in turn. Jason gave her a sideways glance, but she grinned, leaning into him. Her buzz was starting to lessen, and she knew she needed to be clear-headed to complete the mission, but Dominic was the last piece of the puzzle - and seeing as Jason had ruined her plan to flirt with him until he cooperated, accepting drinks off this sleazy guy seemed like it was the path they were going to have to take. He needed to think they were his friends. 

They were doing pretty well so far on that front. Dominic returned moments later with a whiskey in each hand, his girlfriend trailing behind him with a cocktail in each of hers. She handed one to Stephanie, who sipped in appreciatively, enjoying the fruity mix of flavours. Jason threw back his whiskey like a shot, swallowing it and setting the glass aside.

"What should we do now?" he asked, looking between the three of them. Dominic's eyes lit up.

"It's your wedding night bro, you've got to celebrate."

"That kind of celebration will happen later," Stephanie said, hanging off Jason's arm. She winked at Dominic, who flushed and laughed, gesturing to her with one hand, his drink in the air.

"I've got an idea," Dominic's girlfriend - Tonya? - said, tapping her acrylic nails against the glass in her hand. "Why don't we all head down to the karaoke bar down the street?"

"Why not?" Stephanie grinned, looking at Jason with wide, innocent eyes. He forced a smile and followed her, but she could hear him mumbling how fucking stupid it was under his breath. She laughed and swung their hands together, back and forth, excited to be sharing this night, this mission, with him. None of the other batboys would be along for the ride the same way that Jason was. The crowd of Italians they'd collected throughout the evening were following them down the street, laughing and joking with Dominic, who was clearly their ringleader, and the mark of their mission in Las Vegas. They stumbled inside the karaoke bar, Jason and Stephanie keeping a tight grip on each other, and found themselves in a tiny bar with various rooms down either side. Dominic immediately headed for one, and they all followed him, laughing.

"Who first?" He asked with a sly grin, and it was then Steph realised they were being set up, because everyone immediately yelled out her and Jason's names.

Steph grabbed the microphone, already knowing exactly what they were going to sing. She tossed the other to Jason, who caught it easily, eliciting a few impressed whistles from the Italians. The music started, bright and jaunty, and Jason turned and shot her a positively murderous look. She offered him a grin in return and started singing.

"Just one look and I can hear a bell ring," Steph sang, and Jason blanched, before adding in a surprisingly melodious voice, "One more look and I forget everything."

"Mamma mia! Now I really know," Steph sang. "My, my, how could I let you go?"

She twirled and kicked a low kick, giggling. "Mamma mia, here I go again, how can I resist ya?"

"Yes I've been broken hearted," Jason sang beside her, one hand on his chest, passionate and deeply into the song. "Blue since the day we've parted."

"My, my, did I ever let you go?" Steph stared up at Jason again. "I know, I could never let you go."

Tonya broke into applause at the song's end, and the Italians cheered them on again. Dominic clapped, eyeing the two of them with a smirk on his face. Stephanie laughed, buzz coursing through her veins, and threw an arm around Jason's shoulders.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" she asked him.

"It wasn't so bad," he replied.

"You got into it," she accused. He gave her a sheepish grin.

"I got into it," he admitted.

Steph laughed and leaned in, kissing her husband on his cheek, ignoring the roughness of the stubble as it grazed her lips. It was so easy to pretend to be dumb and young and in love with Jason. He was a natural at this.

“Easy there,” Jason said, gently taking the glass of wine someone had put in her hand. “I think we’ve both had enough tonight.”

“You’re probably right,” Steph replied, clapping politely as Tonya finished butchering Total Eclipse of the Heart. “What about-?”

She nodded her head toward Dominic, who had his back to them. Jason grinned at her, tapping one of his pants pockets.

“Don’t you worry about that,” he replied. “I’ve got it covered.”

She believed him.

They spent the rest of the night partying with the Italians - not participating in some of the illicit activities they witnessed, but partying nonetheless - including when Dominic invited them back to his hotel room to finish the night off. That was the opportunity they needed, and they took it, both far from sober but still with it enough to complete the mission, which Jason swore up and down he had covered. So Steph did her thing, distracted Tonya and Dominic, had them laughing and chatting like old friends, while Jason took care of a few things. When he left the bathroom and gave her a thumbs up, she knew they were all good.

It was well after 3AM by the time they made it back to their adjoining hotel rooms in the hotel down the street, but Stephanie was grateful, knowing they’d done good work tonight. It wasn’t quite the same as getting to slip on her Batgirl suit and kick the crap out of these creeps, but it was good work nonetheless - it would give the DA something to work with, if all things went to plan. They bid each other goodnight and went their separate ways, Steph drifting off into a dreamless sleep not long after.

Stephanie lifted her head off the pillow and groaned. Her _head_. She brushed a few blonde strands out of her eyes, propping herself up on her elbow, the downy hotel quilt tucked up under her armpits to give her some decency. She was, for some reason, sleeping in nothing but her bra and underwear, her little purple dress from the night before discarded on the hotel room floor by Jason’s feet.

Jason.

She allowed her gaze to drift upwards, to torn jeans and a loose fitting t-shirt and a leather jacket, and finally settle on Jason’s face, which was looking at her with a sort of soft amusement in his eyes. He offered her a smile and a cup of coffee.

“Morning, sunshine. How’s that hangover?” he asked.

“Just peachy,” Steph replied. She took a sip from the coffee, closing her eyes and savouring the caffeinated goodness for just a moment. She really needed it. “Why are you in my room?”

“I thought I’d come check on you. We’ve got to get moving in the next hour or so.” Jason shrugged, looking down. “How much do you remember about last night?”

“Nowhere near enough.” She huffed, blowing a few more strands of hair off her face. “Those Italians can really drink, can’t they?”

“So you don’t remember...what we did?” Jason asked.

“No,” Stephanie sat up, suddenly alarmed and very aware of her state of undress. “What did we do? Jason? What did we do?”

She was distracted by the appearance of her left hand, which had a - a ring pop gaudily atop her ring finger. The plastic was blue, the candy gem a bright red, and it was tight on her finger. She reached up and pulled it off, flexing her fingers, trying to get some circulation back into it. She looked down at her hands, at the ring pop in her hands, and at her left ring finger. The pieces of the puzzle started to fall together.

“We didn’t,” she said, looking back up at Jason.

“We did,” Jason replied. “But don’t worry, we can get it annulled as soon as we get back to Gotham.”

Stephanie groaned and pulled the quilt up to cover her face. She took another, more contemplative sip of her coffee, and set it aside on the nightstand. A few moments and a couple of deep breaths later, she pulled the quilt back down to find Jason standing there holding her suitcase, offering it out to her.

“Okay. Here’s what we’re going to do,” she told him, reaching for the suitcase. She dumped it on the bed and started rifling through it, looking for her yoga pants and loose-fitting grey t-shirt. She needed a shower, but they didn’t have the time. “We’re going to fly home. We’re going to take a night to sleep on it, because I don’t think I can deal with this today. And then we’re going to call Babs and get her to fix it. Deal?”

“Deal,” Jason said.

He left the room so she could get dressed without prying eyes. She pulled on the yoga pants, adjusting the waistband over her hips and stretching for a moment. Steph pulled on the t-shirt, realising at the last moment it was on inside-out. She blushed, even though nobody had seen her do it, and pulled it on the right way. "All clear," she called out, and Jason stepped back inside, tossing a lighter from hand to hand.

"I'm just going outside for a smoke," he said, patting the pockets of his leather jacket. She nodded, leaving him to it while she finished packing her suitcase back up, making sure to grab the little purple dress from the hotel room floor. Jason returned a few minutes later, smelling strongly of smoke. Steph wrinkled her nose, and he laughed, elbowing her in the side gently. 

"How long until check out?" Steph asked.

"We've got twenty minutes to get downstairs, and then a cab will take us to the airport," Jason replied. "If you're curious about last night, we managed to upload the program to Dominic's laptop and bug his phone. After the karaoke he took us back to his room for more drinks."

"Do you actually remember how we got back?" Steph asked. Jason shrugged.

"Mostly," he said. "Babs said she'd call once she got some good information off his hard drives and shit, so hopefully it's just a matter of time. But we did good work last night, Batgirl. Even if things didn't go quite to plan."

Stephanie ignored the little thrill she got from hearing him call her Batgirl. It had been two - wait, nearly three - years she'd been in the cowl, and it was still a small joy every time a legitimate member of the family called her Batgirl. She'd felt the same way Bruce had called her Robin the first time. "Thanks," she said. Jason grinned at her, like he knew what she was thinking. She wouldn't put it past him. Surely he had known that feeling, the first time he'd been called Robin.

Stephanie gathered her bags and headed towards the door. Jason stepped in between her and the door, reaching for her suitcase.

"Let me take that," he said.

"Oh, now you're my husband you think you have to be a gentleman?" Steph laughed.

He pulled a face. "No, I should be a gentleman anyway. Alfred would have my hide if he heard I let you carry your own bags."

"Okay," Steph smirked, letting him shoulder her carry-on bag, but keeping her suitcase in her hands. She had to admit, the sight of Jason carrying both his bags and hers wasn't half bad. He was tall, strong. She blushed and followed him out to the lift.

Once they'd checked out, returning their room keys to the box at the front desk, they stepped outside, where a cab was waiting for them. Jason had called it in advance, and he shook hands with the driver, waiting until he popped the trunk open and depositing their bags inside. Like her, he kept the bag with his vigilante stuff on him, but he jumped in the front seat, leaving her with the whole back to spread herself and her things across.

The drive wasn’t too long, but they still made it to the airport with hours to spare until their flight. Jason paid the driver and grabbed their bags, strolling inside with a loose grip on them. Stephanie trailed after him with her suitcase, looking around, wide-eyed. This was only the third time she’d ever been in an airport, and they still stunned her.

“We can’t check our bags for at least half an hour, so how about we settle in on those seats over there and get another coffee?” Jason pointed. Steph nodded, leaving him with the bags while she went to grab them drinks from the little Starbucks inside.

She made her way back to him, handing him a black coffee as she took a sip from her venti iced caramel macchiato. He eyed her drink as he took a drink of his. After a moment, she held it out to him, and he took a sip, his mouth twisting into a smile as he swallowed.

“If I’d known you liked them, I would’ve gotten you one,” she said. He shook his head, taking a swig from his coffee.

“This is good. I just wanted to try it,” he replied.

The airport was bustling with people from all walks of life, children as young as two hanging off their father’s hands, women as old as eighty shambling their way across the smooth floors. Stephanie was people-watching to pass the time while Jason fidgeted in the hard plastic seat beside her. He’d been trained by assassins, was probably the most patient person she knew, but the power of his boredom overwhelmed him and so he sat, tapping and twitching, jiggling his leg, waiting for the blessed moment when they could board their plane, get the hell out of this city and back to Gotham, and never speak of last night again.

Stephanie’s phone buzzed and she glanced down at it, holding it loose in her hand. She frowned, swiping across the screen to open the message, pulling her hoodie closer around her. It was from Babs.

_How’s that hangover?_

_Fine_ , she typed back. She’d stopped wondering how Babs knew everything about her life. She just did. She was about to type something else, ask if Babs had gotten any good intel off the bug they’d placed in Dominic’s phone, when an alarm sounded.

“For fuck’s sake,” Jason groaned, grabbing his bags and standing. The people around them were starting to panic, grabbing their things, shoving each other out of the way as they looked for an exit while the alarm droned on and on. A security guard standing nearby was waving people out of an emergency exit, out to the parking lot. Stephanie followed Jason, shouldering her bag and grabbing her suitcase handle, wandering calmly towards the way out. The alarm was sending daggers through her skull, but she took a deep breath and ignored it. She could pop a couple of aspirin once they figured out what was going on.

“What’s going on?” she managed to grab the arm of one of the security guards guiding people outside. He looked over at her, annoyed, and gestured for her to continue on her way.

"Bomb threat," Jason appeared beside her, gently pulling her through the door. Stephanie groaned, covering her face with one hand.

"Please tell me you're joking. I have a paper due tomorrow, I need to get home to night to submit it."

"Sorry," Jason said, not sounding sorry at all. He sounded annoyed, pissed off, and more than a little frustrated, but definitely not sorry. "We're not sticking around here. By the time they clear out everyone and get rid of the bomb - if there is a bomb - our flight will be missed, and I don't want to wait around for them to put us on another plane. It'll be delayed for hours, probably until tomorrow. Come on. Let's get out of here."

"Where are we going?" Stephanie asked, trailing after him, her suitcase rolling behind her. She followed him through most of the parking lot outside, until they got to the street, where he waved down a cab with surprising ease. She was expecting them to have to wait again for at least an hour, given the amount of other people who had decided _fuck this shit_ at the airport's evacuation. Jason seemed a bit twitchy as they got in the cab, keeping his carry-on bag with him and dumping only Stephanie's suitcase in the back. Steph knew for a fact that there was enough in the bag to get them both arrested twice over, but she said nothing, dumping her bag on the seat beside her.

"No," the cab driver said when Jason tried to get in the front. "In the back."

"Sorry?" Stephanie said, but Jason shook his head, opening the passenger side rear door. He shoved her bag out of the way, and the two of them squeezed in the back, sitting shoulder to shoulder, because there was no other way to sit beside Jason - he was six feet tall and at least two feet wide, probably three, just a wall of a human being. He was bulky like Bruce, where Dick and Tim were more lithe, and Damian had yet to hit a real growth spurt. The two of them sat in silence, Steph not even sure where they were going, but the cab driver took them to where Jason directed. It was a Wayne Enterprises building, which surprised her - she knew WE had offices all over the country, but for some reason she hadn't expected one to be in Nevada.

"Jason?" she asked, as they stepped out of the car. He grabbed the bags with ease and wandered inside the building. She stayed outside, tapping on the handle of her suitcase uncertainly. She had no idea what Jason was doing, or why they were at a Wayne office. Honestly, that was the one side of the Wayne family that still made her nervous - the business side. The rampant vigilantism and emotional issues? Piece of cake. The fame and fortune? Not exactly something she had a whole lot of experience with. "I'm back," Jason walked out, pulling a pair of sunglasses out of his pocket and putting them on. "We've got a car."

"That's your plan?" Stephanie asked. "Drive back to Gotham? It'll take us like three days!"

"Do you want to be stuck in Nevada for three more days? While they sort out that whole bomb threat situation?"

"No...but-"

Jason shrugged. "You can stay at the airport, if you like. Or go back to the hotel. But I'm driving home. Nevada is a bullshit state."

That startled a laugh out of Stephanie, and she nodded, biting her lip. "Alright. Sure. Are we taking turns driving, or-"

"Nah, I've got it." Jason grinned at her. "The car's just in the parking garage over there, behind the building. The office staff said they'd have someone bring it around."

“So what? They’re just giving you a car?”

“Pretty much.”

“How?”

Jason shrugged. “I called Dick when we were at the airport. He said he’d talk to Bruce. It was all sorted before we even got here.”

Stephanie blinked, because she hadn’t known Jason was on those kinds of terms with the rest of the family. They teamed up a fair bit, nowadays - there was a lot of crossover between his territory and hers, back in Gotham - but last she’d heard things were still _tense_ between him and Bruce. Things were always tense between him and Bruce. And even though they’d made steps in the past year to fix that, she didn’t think they were _there_ yet.

But they did need to get back to Gotham for the next part of their mission to stop Dominic’s family.

The car pulled up beside them moments later, a silver Audi that had definitely been purchased within the past year. It looked brand new, shiny and immaculate, and oh god Jason and her were about to drive across the entire United States in this thing. They were either going to stick out like a sore thumb, get mugged and robbed, or Jason was going to trash it entirely. "Jason," Steph said with as much calm as she could muster, "That car is worth more than my rent in an entire year."

"It'll be fine," Jason said. "What's the worst that can happen?"

Oh, plenty of things, Stephanie thought, but she popped the trunk and started loading their bags inside, including the bag that held her Kevlar-blend batsuit and the bag with Jason's knife collection.

He'd really branched out from guns since he'd gotten back from his last trip with Talia.

Stephanie jumped into the passenger seat as Jason adjusted the driver's to his height. Steph settled in, buckling her seatbelt and looking at the Wayne Enterprises building behind them. It was just going to be her, her newfound husband, and the open road for the next three days.

Like Jason had said, what was the worst that could happen?


	2. Chapter 2

They had been on the road for at least six hours. They had gone through miles upon miles of desert, towns whose names she'd forgotten as soon as they were past, gas station after gas station for bathroom breaks and snack runs. Early on in the journey - somewhere before the Utah border - Steph had run into a gas station and grabbed as much candy as she could put on her card. They had at least six bags of gummy bears, and a whole bunch of Kit-Kats and Mars bars. Stephanie's sweet tooth was not going to last this trip without regular sugary top ups. Jason was a quiet driver, ill suited to conversation and idle chit chat, so she left him be for the most part. Two hours in she'd figured out how to hook her phone up via Bluetooth and get some tunes playing, so currently her phone was running through her Epic Road Trip Party Playlist she'd made for the last time she and Cass had gone a couple of states over. It was on hour five that it finally looped back to the beginning of the playlist, and she was beginning to have some regrets about all the sugar.

"Where are we?" she leaned forward and turned the music down, glancing sideways at Jason. He was completely focused on the road ahead, his brow furrowed, ever so slightly, his hands still on the steering wheel.

"Hmm?" he replied, not tearing his eyes away from the road.

"I asked, where are we?"

"Colorado," Jason replied. "We can make Denver by about 9 if we keep going."

"Jason," Steph said. "It's already getting dark. I'm not super comfortable driving in the dark. The sun is setting. We need to take a break at some point, why don't we just get a room for the night?"

Jason grunted in reply, but at the next exit he took it, landing them in some little Colorado town with little much to it. Jason pulled up to the first motel they saw with a vacancy sign, killing the engine and sitting still for a few moments. He leaned forward and rested his forehead on the steering wheel, expelling a deep exhale.

"We should have stopped sooner," Steph said. Jason shook his head.

"I'm fine. It's just been a while since I've driven that far. I mainly stick to Gotham."

"Yeah, me too," Steph said, unbuckling her seatbelt. She was keen to stretch her legs after the past six hours trapped in the car. Even with their breaks, it had still been a long drive, and she was tired. Her headache had never quite gone away, but she'd forgotten aspirin every time she stopped. Now that they were in a town, she could hopefully grab some before they crashed for the evening.

"You go get us a room," she said, rubbing one hand across her face. "I'll go across the road and see what food I can find us."

"Sounds like a plan," Jason stepped out of the car, doing a big stretch with his arms above his head, turning his neck from side to side to crack it. The bottom of his shirt rode up, giving Steph a good view of his abs, and after just a moment of looking she turned away, taking a few steps away from the car to stretch out her legs.

Jason headed into the motel's office, keys dangling from his hand and whistling to himself, while Steph walked across the road to the little gas station that sat there. It had a little café attached, so she was hopeful she could grab them something semi-decent to eat . The gas station was surprisingly clean inside, with white floors and heavily stocked shelves. Steph wandered the rows for a little while, mindful of how much money was left on her card, before grabbing them a bag of chips each and wandering towards the café. There was some food in the display case still, wraps and salads with wilting lettuce leaves, sandwiches that must have been sitting there for hours. Still, she was hungry, and she knew Jason was too, and she wasn't about to let them both starve.

"Hi," she called out, getting the clerk's attention. The young woman wandered over, a blue cloth in her hand, and continued wiping down the counter while she waited for Steph to go on.

"Can I grab two of those egg salad sandwiches, and two chicken wraps?" Steph asked, offering her brightest smile. The girl didn't say anything, just set about putting the food into white paper bags, passing them over the counter to her.

"Can I pay for these here?" Steph asked, holding up the two bags of chips.

"Yeah. You want any drinks?" The girl asked, setting the cloth aside and quickly calculating their total.

"Oh! Yeah. Just two cokes, please." Steph waited while the young woman got the cokes out of the fridge behind her, and then looked down at everything she grabbed, wondering how she was going to walk it across the road without dropping anything. "Could I get a bag, please?"

"Sure," the girl grabbed a plastic bag from beneath the counter and started packing everything inside.

"Thank you so much," Steph grinned, paying for the items and sliding the handles of the bag over her wrist. Hopefully Jason would have procured them a room by now, and she could have a shower, maybe wash her hair. She paused by the toiletries before she left the gas station, but shook her head, deciding that if they needed anything, they could come grab it later. The station was the twenty four hour kind, anyway. She could tell.

Jason was standing in the parking lot, smoking a cigarette and leaning up against the car. He nodded to her as she walked over, stubbing his cigarette out on the asphalt and tucking the rest of it back into the packet. 

"I got us a room," he said, just as Stephanie said, "I got us food."

They shared an easy grin and Jason started pulling their bags out of the trunk. Steph reached to help him, but he batted her away, handing her a slim room key dangling off a blue keychain with the number 12 on it. The nearest room was one with a 10 on the door, so she wandered down a little bit until she found the twelfth room, at the very end of the line. Jason was right behind her, arms full.

"By the way," Jason said as the door swung open to reveal a cramped room with a single lone bed in the middle, a couple of beside tables, and a small dresser with a smaller television on top of it. "There's only one bed."

"Of course there is," Stephanie groaned, wandering inside and dumping the bag full of food on the dresser. "Fine. We're adults. We can share a bed for a single evening."

"I can sleep in the tub if it makes you more comfortable."

"Nope, you're the Red Hood, I've seen you shoot people when you were in a good mood. I do not need you in a bad mood in the morning. We'll just share."

"Okay. If you're sure."

"I'm sure." Stephanie started pulling the sandwiches and wraps out of the back while Jason dumped their luggage unceremoniously near the door. "I wasn't sure what you would want, so I just got us a sandwich and a wrap each, is that alright?"

"Fine by me." Jason caught the wrap she tossed him and tore the paper open, biting into it and chewing slowly. There was a faint look of horror crossing his face, but he took another bite. Eventually, he swallowed.

"Is it bad?"

"No," he lied, taking another bite. "Maybe."

Stephanie bit into her own and pulled a face. The chicken was dry and overdone, the lettuce tasted like it was three days old, and there was something not quite right about the mayonnaise. They ate in silence, until Stephanie remembered the cokes and fished them out from the bag, passing one over to Jason. He cracked it open with a grin.

"Thanks," he said. "I can pay you back for the food."

"Don't worry about it," Steph replied, even though that would actually have been very helpful. She still didn't like accepting money - or handouts of any kind - off the Wayne family, no matter who it came from. Even if the person in question was Jason, who more surely than any of the others got why she hated accepting their money. The sun had almost fully set outside, filtering a dim light in through the curtains that hung in the window. Steph reached up and flicked the light on, illuminating the room, which somehow made it worse. It hadn't looked great to begin with, but now she was keenly aware of the stained carpet and the garbage poking out of the trash can, Steph had her suspicions that the room hadn't been thoroughly cleaned since the last guests had stayed in it, but god, she was tired, and her head still hurt-

"Fuck," she said aloud. Jason looked up from his sandwich curiously. "I forgot to get aspirin."

"Again?" Jason joked, but he set his food down and got up. "I'll go get you some."

"You don't need to do that," Steph rubbed her forehead. "I'm fine."

"Don't worry about it. I need a smoke anyway," Jason replied, grabbing his jacket off the dresser and making his way out the door.

Steph sighed and went back to eating her wrap, eyeing the sandwiches suspiciously. Surely they couldn't be worse, right? That's what she kept telling herself as she reached for one and took a tentative bite out of it. It was...not bad, so to speak, but definitely not fresh. Definitely not like the egg salad sandwiches Alfred would serve at Wayne functions she'd snuck into in the past.

Jason returned a few minutes later, two bottles tucked under his arm. He pulled a bottle of aspirin out of his pocket, he tossed it to her and she caught it one handed, looking down at it. She popped two and threw them back, swallowing them dry, almost gagging. Jason made a face at her and passed her one of the bottles under his arm - water. She accepted it gratefully, taking a sip and swallowing it to chase the taste of aspirin out of her mouth.

"Thanks," she said, looking at the ground. Jason shrugged, opening his bottle of water and taking a long drink from it, screwing the cap back on and looking at her.

“The girl on the checkout tried asking for my number,” he said. “I told her I was married.”

"Think we need to get you a ring," Stephanie joked, pulling her ring pop out of her pocket. "I've still got mine."

"Maybe," Jason laughed. "It was weird."

"What do you mean, weird?"

"I don't exactly...I'm not - I don't get why a girl would hit on me," Jason said. Stephanie snorted, rolling her eyes.

"You Wayne boys are all the same. Absolute smokeshows, but heads empty."

"Smokeshow?" Jason asked, quiet. Stephanie blushed.

"Shut up. You know what I mean."

Jason chuckled. "Sure thing, Steph."

Jason flopped on the bed, kicking his shoes off and leaving them in the middle of the floor. He sat cross-legged, one of his toes poking out from the hole in his socks. He reached for the television remote sitting on the bedside table and starting flicking through the channels, eventually settling on a news program covering local events. Stephanie hesitated before climbing up on the bed beside him, bringing her knees to her chest and settling in for the evening. They didn't say much else to each other while they watched, aside from the occasional request to pass the water, or change the channel. Steph looked at Jason from the corner of her eye, as he watched the television. She still couldn't believe she'd married him - except, well, maybe she could. He was handsome, in a weird sort of way. She hadn't really thought about it before, but looking at him now in the dim light of the motel lamp, she could see why that girl had hit on him. She was right. He was a smokeshow.

Eventually, Steph wandered into the bathroom, taking a quick - and cold - shower. She pulled on a singlet and shorts, shivering, and wandered back into the room, climbing under the blankets.

"You okay?" Jason asked, shoving over a little so she could pull more of the blankets over herself.

"No hot water," Steph replied, rubbing her upper arms. Jason reached over and pulled her close to him, letting her snuggle into his side and steal some of his body heat, which seemed to be radiating off him, now that she'd noticed it.

Stephanie dozed off, so exhausted from their day on the road and the partying the night before. Jason smiled to himself, slipping off the bed so she could settle into it comfortably, and went off to the bathroom to shower himself. When he returned, Stephanie was laying almost in the exact centre of the bed, curled up in a ball. He climbed under the covers and shoved her over just a little, giving her a gentle push until she rolled onto her other side, before he settled in and fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

When she awoke the next morning, Steph found herself being squished by something. She huffed and tried to roll out from underneath it, only to find it pulled her closer, because it was Jason's arm.

"Jason," she hissed, not really wanting to wake him but not really wanting to remain trapped under his arm for the rest of eternity. "Get off."

"Hmph," Jason grunted, rolling onto his side so she could climb out of bed. Steph kicked off the blankets and dug through her luggage until she found a pair of leggings to wear. She was going to have to start re-wearing clothes, because she had only packed enough for three days in Vegas and a couple of extra items, and she was running short on those extra items already.

Jason bolted upright in bed, looking around blearily, with sleep-filled eyes. Eyes still heavy with sleep. Stephanie smiled. His hair stuck up at every angle, except for the white streak, which was falling into his eyes. He huffed and pushed it back, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand, and flopped back down on his pillow, mumbling something into it.

"What was that?" Steph asked.

"I said," Jason lifted his head up, rolling onto his stomach, "It's too early to be awake."

Steph checked the time on her phone. "It's eight. We've got to hit the road."

Jason groaned again.

"I can drive, if you want."

"No!" Jason sat up, pushing off the covers. "No, I'm driving. Just...give me a minute...and maybe find me a coffee."

"I already checked on my phone. This town doesn't really have much in the way of coffee shops, but there's a McDonald's on the highway. Or you can go back to the gas station."

"McDonald's," Jason replied, rifling through his backpack. He sighed and gave up, grabbing his jeans off the end of the bed and pulling off his tracksuit pants. Steph stared at the ground, pointedly not looking at him while he got changed. 

Once they were both dressed and decent, they dumped their things back in the car, locked up, and threw the keys into the little box outside the reception office. Steph climbed into the passenger seat and found her candy from the day before. She dug through it until she found a Kit Kat and ripped it open, snapping off a piece and taking a bite. Jason buckled his seatbelt and sighed, throwing his leather jacket on the backseat. The morning was unseasonably warm, and Steph got the feeling that it was only going to get hotter.

Steph snapped another piece of chocolate off the bar and held it in front of Jason’s mouth. He took it between his teeth and bit into it, chewing slowly.

“Breakfast of champions,” Stephanie told him. He chuckled at her, swallowing the chocolate.

“We need real food,” he replied, pulling out onto the highway. It didn’t take long for them to find McDonald’s and pull into the drive-through, where Jason ordered them both coffees, hash browns and muffins. He dug his wallet out of his back jeans pocket and counted out the bills, handing them over through the window. Once they had their food, he pulled back onto the highway, and started driving obscenely fast.

“Jason, you’ll lose your licence,” Steph said, shoving a hashbrown in her mouth.

“Don’t have one,” Jason replied.

“What?!”

“I was dead,” Jason smirked. “Didn’t leave me with a lot of time to take the test.”

“Okay, sure,” Steph kept one hand over her pounding heart. “I really insist you let me drive.”

“It’s fine,” Jason said, reaching down to change gears. “I know what I’m doing.”

Stephanie looked away, eyebrows raised, and took a bite of her muffin, choosing not to open her mouth and say any of the things she was thinking, most of which were along the lines of  _ oh my god, you’re going to get us arrested _ . Or at the very least, he was going to get himself arrested, and leave her stranded on the side of the road in the middle of Colorado. 

Stephanie did not want to be stranded on the side of the road in Colorado.

It was a beautiful state, it was, but there was nothing but rocks and mountains everywhere, and she had a feeling that a phone call to Dick would not be one she’d come out of unscathed.

_ Hi Dick, Jason got arrested and now I’m stuck in Colorado. Send bail money and help. Don’t tell Bruce. _

Of course, right now, that was the least of her worries on things she didn’t want to tell Bruce, because they were fucking married.

“You haven’t told anyone we got married, right?” Steph said, handing Jason his muffin before he could ask for it. He took an appreciative bite, one hand on the steering wheel, and glanced sideways at her.

“No, of course not. I thought we were just going to get Babs to handle it, right?”

“Right,” Steph said, feeling relieved. She didn’t need the whole Wayne family on her case about irresponsibility again.

They finished breakfast and settled in for the next few hours on the road. They were only a few hours away from Denver, and that was where Stephanie assumed they’d stop for lunch, given that it felt like there was nothing between here and there, just endless miles of highway stretching through the mountains. They were somewhere in South Colorado, the last time Stephanie had checked. They’d spent the night in a tiny town on the border, one Steph was kind of glad to leave in the rear view mirror. If they stuck to the road and focused, they could make it halfway through Kansas today, maybe further, and be well on their way back to Gotham.

Steph sat on her phone, playing games, until they hit a particularly desolate section of highway and she lost all service on it. She rolled her eyes, hooking up the Bluetooth again and finding a different playlist to run through on the next leg of their journey. She settled on the eighties playlist, and the sound of Whitney Houston’s soulful voice filled the car. Stephanie sang along, putting down her window and letting the cool breeze whip her hair from her face. A tiny smile crossed Jason’s face and he started humming along.

They soon found themselves hitting towns again, small ones, dotted through the landscape as far as the eye could see. Steph peered outside curiously, watching the scenery roll by, tiny towns along either side of the highway. They passed billboards advertising local bars and nearby attractions, and for the most part Steph ignored them, until -

“Look!” She pointed at the board as they drove past. “We have to stop.”

“We’re not stopping for some dumb tourist bullshit,” Jason said.

“Please,” Stephanie replied. She snatched up Jason’s smokes and lighter and waved them in front of his face. “You get one of these. If you don’t stop I’m going to sulk the entire rest of the trip.”

“Shit, alright.” Jason rolled his eyes, chucking on the indicator and pulling into Creede, Colorado. It was a positively picturesque town seated in the mountains, but the thing that had excited Stephanie, the reason they were stopping, was right in the middle of town.

It was the World’s Largest Fork.

Steph bounced in her seat as they pulled to the side of the road and stopped, unbuckling her seatbelt and pulling out her phone. She snapped a photo of it, and then looked at Jason, who already had a cigarette in his mouth. She rolled her eyes and stepped out of the car, stretching her limbs and grinning to herself. Jason leaned up against the hood of the car, taking a drag and staring at the fork.

“This is why you wanted to stop?” he asked.

“Yes! We have to get a photo!”

“Why?”

“Because,” Stephanie said, grinning at him, “We don’t have anything like this in Gotham. Really. Can you think of anything in Gotham this cool?”

“No,” he conceded. “Fine, come on.”

“Yes!” Steph cheered. She spotted a group of tourists nearby and waved to them, walking over. They looked at each other, confused for a moment, until she held out her phone.

“Could you snap a photo of us for me?” she asked.

“I have to be in the photo too?” Jason groaned. Steph punched him in the arm.

“Yes, you do. Come on.”

Steph dragged him over to the base of the fork, and they stood in front of its prongs, side by side. At the last moment, Steph threw up her fingers in a peace sign behind his head, sticking her tongue out at the camera. The fellow tourist taking the photo snorted and struggled not to laugh as she handed Steph her phone back.

“Thank you so much,” Steph grinned.

“No worries,” the woman grinned back. “You two are such a cute couple.”

“We’re not-” Jason started, but Steph cut him off.

“Thank you,” she said, punching Jason on the arm again. He looked down at her with an amused smirk. “We’re married, you jackass.”

“I know we’re married,” he said. The group of tourists had wandered away, into a nearby restaurant. Jason’s cheeks had gone a soft pink. “But we’re not - I don’t know. Whatever. You got your photo, can we go now?”

“Sure,” Steph said serenely, leading the way back to the car.

They buckled themselves in and Jason started the car again, pulling back out onto the highway. Steph scrolled through her contacts until she found the batgirls group chat and sent them the photo of her and Jason in front of the World’s Largest Fork. Her phone dinged a moment later, and she frowned down at it.

“Damn it. No signal again.”

“Who are you sending that to?” Jason tried to peer over at her phone, but she pulled it away, shoving him on the arm.

“Pay attention to the road, please,” she replied. He huffed and turned his attention back to the expanse of highway that stretched before them, but there was the hint of a smile on his face.

After a while on the road, he looked over to her, leaning back in his seat, one hand on the steering wheel and one on the gearstick. “Send me a copy of that photo,” he asked, his voice quiet. Steph smiled to herself.

“Yeah, of course. I just need us to get back to civilisation so I can get some signal again.”

“We’re not far from Denver,” he said as they passed through another town. “Another hour at most.”

“Thank God, I’m so hungry,” Steph replied. They’d been on the road for hours, it felt like. It had been three hours since they’d stopped last.

“Bet I can get us there faster,” Jason smirked.

“Do not!” Stephanie groaned, knowing he was messing with her but feeling her anxiety rise anyway. Jason drove exactly like Bruce did in the Batmobile - with little regard to the law. He laughed at her, and they accelerated a little, but, to her relief, not above the speed limit.

They made it to Denver just over an hour later, and by that time Stephanie was positively crawling with energy. Road trips were fun and all, but good lord, there was nothing engaging about them whatsoever when you weren’t the one driving.

Jason found a diner on the outskirts of Denver, a little fifties style joint that had seen better days. Stephanie climbed out of the car and groaned, stretching her legs by walking up and down alongside it, shaking out her feet every few steps. Jason was staring at her like she’d grown a second head.

“What?” she asked, a little defensively.

“Nothing,” he replied. “You’re like a Labrador. Keep you cooped up for a couple of hours and you go nuts.”

“Hey!” Steph shot back, but she had to admit he was right.

They walked towards the doors. Jason stepped forward and opened it, holding it open as Stephanie walked through, letting it swing shut behind them as they walked inside. There were booths lining the walls with red vinyl seats and silver tables, a polished floor, and a long counter stretching from one end of the joint to the other, with red stools running all along it. A jukebox sat in the corner, warbling out tunes from a bygone era, and the walls were lined with vinyl records and old-fashioned Coca Cola signs, along with a few sketched pictures of famous celebrities, including one of Elvis Presley. Steph couldn’t help but grin as she looked around. It was all so charming.

The two of them walked over to the counter, where a sign hanging from the ceiling said ORDER HERE in faded letters. Jason picked up a menu and skimmed it, flicking through the pages quickly. He handed it over to Steph, who took it eagerly, but she’d barely made it past the first page before she knew what she wanted.

“What can I get ya, hon?” The waitress made her way over, flicking open a small notepad and poising her pen over it. Steph glanced at Jason, and when he nodded, placed the menu down on the counter.

“The waffles, please,” she said, pointing to the page. The waitress nodded, scribbling it down, and then turned to Jason, who glanced down at the menu again.

“Burger and fries, thanks,” he said, pulling out his wallet. 

“Any drinks?”

“A milkshake,” Stephanie said immediately, looking up at Jason. “That’s okay, right?”

“All that sugar is gonna make you sick,” Jason replied. “Make it two milkshakes.”

“Sure thing,” The waitress wrote it down and accepted the cash Jason handed her. She came back from the register a moment later with their change, handing it over, and nodded at an empty booth. “Sit over there and I’ll bring it out to you as soon as it’s ready.”

“Thank you!” Steph grinned as she took her seat.

Jason slid into the booth across from her. He tapped his fingers against the surface of the table, looking out the window at the car, apparently lost in thought. Steph watched him, resting her head against her hand and smiling to herself.

Jason’s food appeared first, a burger sitting atop a pile of fries. He reached for the salt shaker and gave the fries a gentle coating before sitting it back down, picking up his burger and taking a bite. He chewed slowly, looking at Stephanie’s dejected face, and pushed his plate towards her.

“Thanks,” Steph said, stealing a couple of fries and shoving them in her mouth. She was so hungry. Thankfully she didn’t have to wait long, because the waitress reappeared with her waffles a few moments later, and Stephanie’s eyes lit up as soon as she saw the plate.

Waffles piled high on the plate, with a scoop of ice-cream, a generous drizzle of chocolate sauce, and a smattering of fresh berries over the top. Stephanie grinned as it was placed down in front of her, grabbing her knife and fork and getting ready to dig in. Jason stared, vaguely shocked that anyone could consider that a meal, but having known Stephanie for a couple of years now he couldn’t say that this was unusual behaviour.

He thought he was right, though. All that sugar was going to make her sick.

“Oh my god,” Stephanie mumbled around a mouthful of waffle. “These are amazing.”

Jason took a sip of his milkshake and watched, smiling, as Steph shoved more of her meal into her face. He had to admit, they did look good.

“You want a bite?” Steph asked, almost as if she read his mind.

“You? Sharing waffles?” Jason pretended to be shocked, but he grabbed a fork and took the piece she was offering him. She was right, they were amazing. Just the right amount of sweet.

Steph stole another of his fries and dipped it in her milkshake, shoving it in her mouth and savouring the mix of salty and sweet. Jason laughed, grabbing one of his own and doing the same thing. It was good. It was good to share food with someone he trusted.

“Hey, I finally have service again,” Steph said, holding up her phone. She swiped through it a few times and typed something, tapping her screen and then clicking it off. “Done.”

Jason’s phone buzzed. He picked it up and glanced down at it, and saw that she’d sent him the picture, the one of them standing in front of the World’s Largest Fork. He saved it to his phone and smiled to himself, when another notification came through.

“Oh,” he said. “I have a missed call from Bruce.”

“That’s weird,” Steph replied, checking her phone. “I’ve got nothing. Maybe call him back and see what’s up?”

Jason did, holding the phone up to his ear and patiently waiting what seemed like forever. After a few moments, he shook his head, putting his phone down. “Couldn’t reach him.”

“I’m sure if it’s important he’ll call back,” Steph said, stealing a couple more of Jason’s fries as he took a huge bite of his burger. Steph slurped up the last of her milkshake, returning to her waffles a few moments later. She’d demolished most of the plate, only a few stray berries and a couple of bites of her waffles left. Jason, similarly, had made short work of his burger, and between the two of them they’d finished almost all of the fries.

“You ready to go?” Jason asked, grabbing a few stray fries.

“Sure,” Steph said, shoving her phone in her pocket. “That was so good.”

Jason hummed in agreement and the two of them made their way outside, back to the car. It was pretty conspicuous, even in a city like Denver. Sleek, tinted windows, brand new tires. Stephanie hoped fervently they wouldn’t stick out so much the further into their journey they got. Maybe closer to Gotham the car would blend in a little better.

She doubted it, though.

Stephanie groaned at the thought of spending the rest of the day cooped up in the car, but Jason shot her a grin.

“Want to go see what other weird stuff we can find?” he asked her. “I’m sure there’s more out there than the World’s Largest Fork.”

“Hell yeah!” Steph’s face broke out in a smile, and Jason started the car, ready to put them back on the highway and further on their adventure across the United States.


	4. Chapter 4

They found a lot of weird and wacky and wonderful stuff to stop at on their way through the country.

They saw a cannon. They saw car graveyards of every kind. They drove past what appeared to be a giant painting done by Van Gogh, which Steph managed to snap a photo of as they went by. Currently, they were stopped at The World's Largest Ball of Twine, where Stephanie was trying to snap a selfie with both of them in it.

"Here, use my phone," Jason said, handing his over. It didn't help much, because she was still unable to get the both of them and the twine into the shot.

"Do you need a hand with that?" A nearby teenager asked, holding his hand out for the phone. Steph handed it over to him and scooched in close to Jason, grinning wide when he threw his arm around her and threw up a peace sign, his sunglasses hiding the sparkle she could see in his eyes.

"Scooch a little closer," the teen said, and they did, squishing in so he could get a clear shot of them and the ball of twine.

"Got it." He grinned, went to hand the phone back, and then sprinted in the other direction, phone still in hand.

"What?!" Stephanie yelled. Jason was already running after him, yelling a string of swears and curse words that were probably going to get them kicked out of this nice town.

"That little punk took my fucking phone!" He roared, but it didn't seem to make any difference, because the little punk in question was pulled up onto the back of a pickup truck driving past and sped away, sticking his tongue out at the two of them. Jason stood in the middle of the road, his hands on his hips, and heaved a great big sigh.

"Well fuck," he said, wandering his way back to Stephanie. "There goes my phone."

"We'll get to a police station, report it stolen," Steph said, but Jason shook his head, pulling out a cigarette.

"Don't bother," he replied. "I needed an upgrade anyway, and the damn thing will be useless to him the second it locks itself. I give it about twenty minutes before he ditches it and realises it's more trouble than it's worth. Come on," and with that he led her back to the car, taking one final drag on his smoke before putting it out. Steph sighed and climbed back into the car, shaking her head. Yeah, of course this was going to happen. At least most of the photos from their trip were backed up on her phone, anyway.

"Alright," Jason said once they were settled back into their seats. "We're half an hour from the next stop, but then we really need to get back on the road if we want to make it back to Gotham by tomorrow night."

"Sure," Steph said, good-naturedly. She'd gotten her fill of weird little tourist hotspots and roadside attractions on their way through Kansas. If they found any more on the way home, she wouldn't object to stopping at any of them - she'd heard the World's Largest Running Shoe was in Central City - but she wasn't sure if they'd bee stopping in Missouri long enough for her to see it, or even if the route Jason had chosen would take them that way, because there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to how Jason was getting them back to Gotham. So far, they'd stopped in a ton of cities and towns she had never even known existed, but Jason seemed to embrace like he was coming home, every time. He'd made a few offhand remarks, like, "When Roy and I were last here," and all in all, Steph didn't quite know what to make of it, because she knew Jason didn't leave Gotham that much - he'd told her so himself. Hadn't he?

"You ever been to the center of the United States?" Jason asked, pulling off the freeway in a town called Lebanon, Kansas.

"The what?" Stephanie said.

"Welcome to Lebanon," Jason said. "I think you'll like this one." He drove them a little ways out, until they came upon what appeared to be a picnic area. In the middle was an erected monument, a marker, made of stone and cement. Stephanie stepped out of the car, curious, and wandered her way over to it.

THE GEOGRAPHIC CENTER OF THE UNITED STATES.

"Huh," Steph said, her face breaking out into a grin. She'd never even thought about it, that their country had to have a middle somewhere, and now it seemed Jason had found it for her. She pulled out her phone and waved him over.

"Not another photo," he groaned. 

"Yes, another photo!" Steph said, and the two of them squished against each other, so that the marker was visible in the background. Stephanie took a couple of snaps of them like that, cheek to cheek, Jason side-eyeing her and her grin wide. Jason smiled in one, stuck his tongue out in another, and in the last the two of them were looking at each other, goofy grins on both their faces. Jason wouldn't admit it to her, but he was having fun on their little road trip, and honestly? Neither of them seemed all that keen to get back to Gotham.

If only their little road trip could last forever.

It couldn't, though - they had real lives to get back to, college courses and vigilantism and family that all needed them. They had a case to solve, though Babs was being awful quiet on that front. She'd promised to update them when she had found something, but so far, it had been radio silence from - well, from everyone. Normally by now at least Tim would have checked in, or Cass, but the Wayne family had been oddly silent the entire time Stephanie and Jason had been away. And aside from that one missed call from Bruce, nobody else had tried reaching them, even though they'd both had signals on their phones for the last two or three towns. Of course, now Jason's was missing, but Steph still had hers. It's not like they were completely unreachable.

"Let's hit the road," Jason said, stretching out his arms. Steph felt stiff, too. Two days in the car had been hell on her back. It hadn't been the same since - well, since Black Mask. She tried not to think about it, though. Just did her stretches and exercises, used a support when she needed one. Sometimes Leslie would give her the good painkillers, but she didn't take them often, keeping them stashed away just in case. They hit the road again, and Steph scrolled through her phone, looking for another great playlist to put on. So far, they'd gone through her Epic Road Trip Playlist, her Great Eighties Playlist, and her Pop Hits And Jams Playlist, but right now she was in the mood for something a little softer, a little more contemplative.

"Is this Elvis?" Jason asked, flicking on the indicator and changing lanes. Steph looked at him with a surprised grin.

"Yeah. My mom is a big Elvis fan. Not like, crazy fan, but she...I grew up listening to these old records." 

"Nice," Jason said, falling silent again. They crossed the border into Missouri and Steph sighed, watching the scenery go by out the window. The Midwest was so flat compared to Colorado, compared to Gotham even. At least in Gotham the scenery changed depending on where you were, but out here it was just endless fields, filled with crops of corn and what, gold as far as the eye could see. They drove for what felt like hours through the fields, until Steph spied something in the distance and slapped Jason on the arm in excitement.

"Look!" She pointed. It was a huge rocking chair, sitting on the side of the highway. It was as tall as a building, and about as wide. Steph pulled out her phone and snapped a photo of it.

"I'm surprised you don't want us to stop and climb the damn thing," Jason joked, and Steph turned on him, her blue eyes wide with excitement. He caught the look on her face and froze in fear. "No - no! Stephanie! I was joking!"

"Please," Steph pleaded. "We can get a photo from the top."

"You want a photo of us on what appears to be the World's Largest Rocking Chair?" Jason asked.

"It's not the World's Largest. It's just a really big rocking chair. But yes," Steph said.

Jason considered the road ahead of him and sighed, flicking the indicator on to pull off to the side. There was no crowd around the rocking chair, probably because the sun was setting the distance. They'd have to find somewhere to stop for the night soon. Steph hoped they would make it to Central City before then.

"One photo," Jason said. "That's it, Steph. And - just. One photo."

"One photo," Steph promised. She grinned to herself.

Jason looked around, checking the coast was clear, and then knelt on the ground, lacing his fingers together so Steph could step into them. She did, balancing precariously on his hands, as she stood and held her up to the seat of the chair. She couldn't quite reach it though, so after a moment, he looked around again, and ignoring her protests -

"Jason, no, Jason, no, Jason, I'll climb down and find another way up there, I'm pretty sure there's a grappling hook in the trunk-"

Her yeeted her up there. 

"Jason!" Steph squealed, sprawling across the seat of the rocking chair, groaning and laughing to herself. After a few moments, she wriggled over to the side on her belly, reaching down one hand for him. He grasped her hand tight, kicking his legs downwards as he jumped and she used the momentum to pull him up the rest of the way, both hands gripping tight onto his. They fell backwards in a sprawl, laughing together, and Steph curled up on the seat, tucking her legs up underneath her. They could see miles of Missouri countryside around them, a town off in this distance, the sun setting over on the horizon. 

"You're strong," Jason punched her on the arm. "Packing away some powerful guns under all those purple hoodies."

"Shut up," Steph giggled, punching him back. They grinned at each other, the breeze lifting through the trees and tossing Steph's blonde hair to the side. Jason grinned down at her, easy and relaxed in the late afternoon's warm sun, the white streak in his hair flopping down into his eyes. Steph looked at him, biting her lip, and leaned in just a little, shivering.

Jason stared down at her and put an arm around her, pulling her close. They looked at each other, smiling, faces so close their noses were almost touching, and Steph took a deep breath.

"Hey!" A voice broke the silence, and Steph and Jason broke apart, looking down. A uniformed officer was standing on the dirt below, his arms folded. "What are you kids doing up there?"

"Nothing!" Steph said cheerfully, tucking her phone away.

"Well get down!" The trooper yelled up at them. "It's not safe!"

"Yes, sir!" Jason yelled back, and it even managed not to sound entirely sarcastic. Steph whipped out her phone and snapped a quick photo of them before Jason could react, and stood on the edge, tucking her phone away again and turning around to climb down. Jason jumped off, landing on his feet and bending his knees, straightening up and offering the trooper a cheeky smirk.

"Don't climb the rocking chair again, please," the trooper folded his arms across his chest. Jason and Stephanie shared a look, trying not to laugh.

"Yes, sir," Stephanie said. "We're sorry. It won't happen again."

"Every day I gotta pull kids off this thing," the trooper grumbled, marching back over to his squad car and leaving them be. Stephanie suppressed the urge to giggle and followed Jason back to the Audi, where he'd lit up a smoke. She wrinkled her nose but chose not to say anything, because honestly, she hated the smell. She'd hated it when her mother smoked, and she hated it now, but it was the once vice Jason seemed to indulge in - until the other night, the night of their wedding, she'd never seen him drink alcohol at all. 

"Let's get going," she said instead, climbing inside. They were only an hour off Central City. They made it there just as night fell, stopping at the nearest motel. Stephanie could see the World's Largest Running Shoe off in the distance, but she didn't immediately drag Jason back to the car so they could go get a photo. It could wait until morning. Besides, she was absolutely exhausted.

The motel room had two beds, tiny single beds crammed into a room painted a pale beige, with beige carpet and a single wall covered in floral wallpaper. There were matching floral bedspreads on the beds, and Stephanie claimed the one closest to the bathroom, flopping onto the bed with a small bounce. It was soft and springy, but she didn't mind, melting into the clean covers.

"Dinner?" Jason asked, checking the takeout menus that had been left in the top drawer of the bedside table. "There's a pizza place that apparently delivers."

"Oh, pizza sounds good," Steph grinned. Jason reached for his phone, and then stopped, pulling an unimpressed face. Steph bit back a laugh and tossed him her phone instead, which he caught easily, swiping to unlock it and dial the number. They ordered a pepperoni pizza and a garlic bread, and after a moment's consideration Jason ordered a bottle of coke to go with it, knowing he had to satisfy Stephanie's sweet tooth as well. They sat around the room, which was sadly bare of a television, waiting for the pizza guy to turn up. When he did, Jason tipped him generously, carrying the pizza inside and dumping it on Stephanie's lap.

They both dug in, splitting slices and pieces of garlic bread between them. Jason unearthed two clean glasses for them to pour the coke into, and Steph settled back on her bed, the pizza box balanced on the bedside table between them. Each slice was covered in gooey, stringy cheese, with thick slices of pepperoni and soft dough. Jason ate half the pizza in what seemed like seconds, tearing a piece of garlic bread off and shoving it into his mouth.

"Easy," Steph said, tearing off a piece of herself. "You don't need to eat the entire thing."

"I'm starved," Jason said, taking another slice. He shot her a guilty look. "Is it okay if I have more? I don't want to steal your pizza."

"Yeah, it's fine," Steph said, grabbing her third - and probably last - slice. They settled into a quiet companionship, finishing off the pizza and garlic bread and sitting on their respective beds, absolutely stuffed. Steph took a sip of her drink and set it aside, rolling onto her side and looking over at Jason. In the dim motel lights, he looked seriously, his deep eyes narrowed as he half-dozed in a food coma. He reached up and brushed his hair off his face, sighing, and looked over at her when he realised she was watching him.

"What?" he asked, his face breaking out into a smile.

"Nothing," Steph replied. "Are we getting up early tomorrow?"

"If we do, I think we can be back in Gotham by the late afternoon. It'd be good to have a shower somewhere familiar," Jason said. "And, I'm not gonna lie, I'm itching to get back on the streets."

"God, me too!" Steph exclaimed. "Like, I know Cass and Tim can hold down the fort while we're not there. And Bruce, of course. But my neighbourhood is used to me. Gotham must be wondering where Batgirl is."

"Maybe Cass put on your costume and did a patrol for you?" Jason suggested. Stephanie shrugged.

"Maybe. I wouldn't expect her to, though. She's outgrown Batgirl, she's her own woman now."

"That's why it got passed down to you."

"Exactly. That's why it got passed down to me. I stepped into it, because I couldn't be Spoiler any more."

"I don't know if I've ever asked," Jason said, rolling onto his side so he could look at her better. "What made you start crime fighting?"

"You don't know?" Steph asked, a little taken aback, somewhat surprised that Jason hadn't heard. "My father is the Cluemaster. I donned the cape to take him down...many times. And eventually it just stuck."

"Huh," Jason replied. "Yeah. That makes sense."

They fell silent again, and Stephanie sighed to herself, rolling off the bed to grab her bag. She dug through it for a minute, unearthing a clean pair of leggings and some underwear, but she huffed when she realised she was out of clean shirts.

“Damn it,” she muttered, tipping her bag onto the bed and digging through what fell out. Another pair of extra pants, some more underwear, two pairs of socks - but no clean shirts, not even a tank top. She looked down at the shirt she was wearing, which had a small grease stain from the pizza near the collar, and a couple of drops of coffee she’d spilled earlier that morning. “Guess I’m wearing this again tonight.”

“Hang on,” Jason said, reaching for his duffle. He dug through it for a second and produced a grey t-shirt and threw it at her. “You can wear this. I’ve got another one.”

“Thank you,” Steph said, grateful he’d had spare clothes. “I’m just going to shower.”

She stood under the warm spray of the shower as long as she thought she could get away with, letting it wash the grime of the road down the drain. There was no body wash and she hadn’t packed any, so she just had to rely on the water to get her clean, but she emerged a few minutes later feeling, at least, a little fresher. She pulled on the leggings and Jason’s t-shirt, which hung off her, and gave her reflection a little smile in the mirror. She looked tired, but no more than usual; motel rooms were not exactly great to sleep in, and she really just missed her bed at home.

When she stepped back into the room, she found Jason lying flat on his back, snoring softly. She chuckled to herself and climbed into her bed, reaching over and flicking off the light, and settling in to read on her phone before she fell asleep. Jason shifted in his sleep and mumbled something, rolling onto his stomach and burying his head into his pillow, one foot twitching. Steph smiled, clicking her phone off and settling in to sleep for the night.


	5. Chapter 5

It was around midday the next day when Jason stopped next, at a little roadside attraction in Illinois. They were getting ever-closer to home , and Steph was getting relieved, because she had loved this trip - really, she had - but she missed Gotham something fierce, like a part of her was missing when she was without it. She had felt the same way when she'd been overseas, too, and it had been what had eventually led her to return home. She had a sense of obligation to her city, and she missed it with every day she was away.

Jason did too, not that he would admit it out loud.

The past few hours of their trip had been relatively uneventful. They'd stopped for gas early that morning, stopped for food, and stopped at a couple of dinky little tourist spots for the hell of it. Jason made good time on the highways, even if his driving made Stephanie want to take over. The two of them sat side by side on a bench overlooking a river. Steph swung her legs back and forth, and Jason flicked the ash off his cigarette, staring contemplatively over the scenery.

"We should get going," he said eventually. He pointed to a nearby gas station. "We'll stop there for some more drinks, I'm out of water. You?"

"Yeah," Steph agreed, because she'd drained her bottle not too long ago. The two of them made their way back down to the car and drove the couple of minutes down to the gas station, pulling up alongside the pumps. Jason checked the fuel gauge and sighed, unbuckling his seatbelt and stepping out of the car. "I'll fuel up if you just want to run inside and grab everything," he said. Steph nodded, grabbing her wallet and shoving it in the pocket of her hoodie, walking down into the store.

As she walked in, she spied a gumball machine by the front door, next to an ancient mechanical horse ride, the kind for little kids. It had cracked glazed paint on it, and blank, empty eyes, but that wasn't what Stephanie was paying attention to - no, she realised with a small laugh, the gumball machine had rings inside, little cheap costume jewellery rings inside little round plastic capsules. She fished in her wallet for a dime and slid into the machine, turning the handle so it would pop out a capsule at her. There was a rattle as it did, and she pulled it free, popping open the plastic to find a large ring inside, cheap plastic painted gold with a piece of red glass for the gem.

"Perfect," she said aloud, and tucked it away into her pocket, smiling to herself as she wandered inside the store to pay for their gas and grab a couple of water bottles. Jason was watching her from the car, eyes narrowed, like he suspected she was up to something, or perhaps because he was tired of patiently waiting for her to be done. They had to hit the road, after all.

When she got back to the car, Steph handed over a bottle of water and watched as Jason popped it open, taking a long drink from it before he put it in the holder between them. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand and looked over when he realised she was watching him.

"What?" he asked, wiping his mouth again. "Something on my face?"

"No," Steph said, reaching into her pocket. "I got you something."

She produced the ring with a flourish, holding it out to him so the glass gem glittered in the sunlight. Jason stared down at it for a moment before he broke out into a grin, and he reached over and took it, sliding it over his left ring finger. It was just big enough to slide past his first knuckle, where it got stuck, refusing to go any further, but he laughed, looking down at it.

"You got me a ring?"

"Well, yeah. I can't have my husband walking around without one."

"You still got yours?" Jason asked. Steph produced the ring pop from her pocket.

"Yeah," she replied. "I'm keeping it forever, so I can remember this road trip."

"At least we'll always have Vegas," Jason laughed. They pulled back onto the highway, and he didn't take the ring off his hand, leaving it on his finger even though it had to be a tight squeeze. There was no way it was sitting on there comfortably.

Jason kept the ring on for the rest of the day, even when they stopped again for food and once more for drinks and a bathroom break. It earned him a few odd looks, the fake plastic ring sitting on his finger, but he kept it on, occasionally looking down at it and smiling. The two of them were speeding along a highway - under the limit, or so Stephanie thought - when there was a flash of red and blue behind them.

"Fuck," they said together. Jason, for what it was worth, calmly flicked the indicator on and pulled to the side, parking alongside the road. The police car pulled up behind them, parking a little ways off, and pulled to a stop, lights still flashing, but the cop made no move to get out of the car.

"Quick," Stephanie said, unbuckling her seatbelt. "Get in my seat!"

"What?" Jason said, unbuckling his as well. Stephanie climbed over the centre console and shoved him with one arm, struggling her way into the driver's seat. Jason wriggled his way out from underneath her and climbed across to the passenger seat, cursing under his breath at being squished for a few moments. The two of them settled into their seats and re-buckled themselves into the car, Stephanie looking up at the rear view mirror at the cop car, which still had not produced a cop.

"You don't have to do this," Jason said.

"You're unlicensed," Stephanie replied. "We are not getting arrested in the middle of - hey, where are we?"

"Indiana," Jason replied. "I think."

"Indiana or Illinois," Stephanie agreed. They'd passed the border not long ago, or perhaps they were coming up to it? One or the other. They were just getting closer to home, that's all she knew.

The police car opened and an officer stepped out, and Stephanie remained thankful that Bruce tinted his windows so dark there was no way the cop had seen them change seats. Or at the very least, she hoped. Because they were both completely screwed if the cop had seen them.

The officer walked up to the window and knocked on it. Steph hit the button to wind it down and turned on the most dazzling, bright, charming smile she had in her repertoire. 

"Good afternoon, ma'am," he said, leaning up against the side o f the car. "Do you know why I pulled you over today?"

"No, sir," Stephanie said, flicking a glance at Jason, who was sitting very, very still, like if he didn't move the cop wouldn't notice he was there.

"You came off that exit real quick," the cop replied, crossing his arms.

"Was I speeding?" Stephanie asked. "Are you going to give me a ticket?"

"You're not from around here, are you?" The officer asked. Steph glanced at Jason again, and then looked up at the cop.

"No, sir, we're just trying to get back to Gotham."

"Gotham City, eh?" The cop chuckled. "I spent some time there when I was about your age. Hell of a place."

"Sure is," Steph said, cheerful. "My husband and I just want to make it home. We've been on the road for a few days."

"I hear you," The officer said. He unfolded his arms and tucked his ticket book away, smiling. "You kids have a safe trip home. I won't write you up for it, but you really oughta make sure you're not going too fast, alright?"

"Alright," Steph replied. "Thank you officer! Have a great day!"

"We were not going too fast," Jason mumbled. Steph elbowed him to shut up while the cop was still in earshot. "What?" he said defensively. "We weren't. I'm not a bad driver."

"I never said you were a bad driver," Stephanie replied. "But you were speeding, a little bit, and that cop was just nice enough to let us off with a warning."

"Hmph," Jason grumbled to himself. They watched as the cop car pulled out and drove off, away down the highway, and, thankfully, away from them. 

"Come on," Steph said. "Let's swap. Or are you willing to let me drive for a bit? You look exhausted."

"...I guess you can drive for the next state or so. Just stay on the highway, and let me know when we get close to the border." Jason finally conceded.

"Can do," Steph grinned. Jason letting her drive, while he was still in the car? It was nothing short of a miracle.

Jason dozed off somewhere along the highway, arms folded across his chest as he snoozed quietly in the passenger seat. Steph turned down the music, letting the car fill with silence so that Jason could get some rest. Even though they'd been stopping for breaks and each night to sleep, Jason was still running himself ragged with all the driving, and, she'd noticed, he didn't sleep all that well of a night either. He was constantly tossing and turning, though he never mentioned sleeping poorly the next morning. Steph let him sleep past the border, driving her way into Ohio quietly. They passed the World's Largest Basket, and Steph grinned to herself as they drove by. Gotham seriously needed something in the way of roadside attractions. Maybe she could convince Bruce to put up the World's Largest Bat - it would be appropriate. And cute. Gotham needed more in the way of tourism, honestly. It wasn't like New York, the neighbouring city that held Broadway and bright lights - or even like Metropolis, which had made a killing on Superman related merchandise over the years. Gotham didn't embrace its super heroics the way other cities did, and it definitely didn't try to incorporate them into tourism. Maybe it was that none of Gotham's heroes weren’t  _ super _ heroes - they were just a group of likeminded, batshit crazy vigilantes with acrobatic skills and fighting prowess.

Steph wasn't sure. She'd never really thought about it this much before, but this road trip had taken her mind to some weird places, just watching hours and hours and miles and miles of scenery go by. Watching the whole country go by, in bits and pieces and roadside attractions. She'd enjoyed it, but it had left her with a lot of time to think.

And think she was. Like: what were she and Jason supposed to do now they were married?

Get it annulled, sure. But what if that didn't work, and they had to get divorced instead? Steph didn't know the ins and outs of divorce law that well - even when her parents had split up, she hadn't paid a whole lot of attention - but didn't there have to be a period of separation first? Irreconcilable differences? She and Jason had no differences, they'd just gotten married by mistake. But really, had it been a mistake? She'd known exactly what she was doing. She had been drunk, but not that drunk. She'd pretended to be his fiancé to make the case run smoother, and when they'd ended up at the chapel, she'd looked at him and gone yes, I can marry this man.

So really, wasn't this all on her? On the both of them? Could they even get divorced if they didn't hate each other?

"Hey, I thought you were going to wake me up when we hit the border," Jason said, sitting straight, wiping a bit of drool from his face. Stephanie glanced at him as she flicked the indicator on to change lanes.

"Sorry, but you looked so peaceful sleeping. I didn't want to disturb you."

"It was probably the best sleep I've had in awhile," Jason admitted, shrugging. He groaned and stretched his arms out in front of him, laying his palms flat on the dash, stretching his legs out as far as they could go in the cramped front seat of the car. "Where are we, anyway?"

"Almost at the Pennsylvania border," Steph said. Jason blinked.

"You let me sleep for a whole state?!"

"You needed it," Steph replied. "You said so yourself, it's the best sleep you've had. Don't think I haven't noticed the way you toss and turn all night. The only night you seemed to actually sleep was when we shared that bed."

"Yeah, well," Jason said, and he didn't say anything else, because maybe what he wanted to say was I felt safe with you. Steph pulled to the nearest gas station, checking the tank again. It was hovering somewhere above empty, but she wanted to be sure they made it home to Gotham without needing to stop again. They were on the home stretch, now. Just one state away from home. Steph walked inside to pay, waiting in line for a minute. She could see the car from through the glass inside, and she watched, unimpressed, as Jason took back the driver's seat, running his hands over the steering wheel and smiling to himself. He still had the ring on. Steph finally walked outside, and back to the car, where Jason looked at her through the window. She gestured for him to put it down.

"Yes?" he asked, with a shit-eating grin.

"I'm driving," Steph said. "You drove us three quarters of the way across the country, I can get us back to Gotham."

"Too late," Jason said. "I'm already in the seat. Get in."

Steph rolled her eyes but opened the passenger door and climbed inside, handing Jason the soda she'd gotten for him inside. He cracked it open and took a long drink, starting the car and pulling them back onto the highway. They were in Pennsylvania, now. Just four hours to go, and they'd be back home, in Gotham. It would be dark by the time they got home, but at least they'd be home. 

"Hey, where are we going to leave the car?"

"My building has a garage underneath it." Jason said. "I can drop you off at home and take it back with me, and I'll return it to Bruce in the morning."

"Yeah alright, fair enough," Steph shrugged, opening a packet of candy and pulling a sour gummy worm out of it.

She held the packet out to Jason, who grabbed a handful and dropped them into his mouth, humming along with the music Steph had turned back on now that he was awake and driving. As the front seat passenger, it was her job to control the tunes, the snacks, the drinks, and the GPS on this journey, and she'd done all that - with the exception of the maps, because she had no idea how Jason was getting them back to Gotham. His route seemed to mostly be following the highway east, but they'd detoured past so many towns she had never even seen or heard of that at this point she had no idea where they were, except for somewhere in the backend of Pennsylvania, four hours from home. They passed some quiet little towns, drove through an Amish village, and wandered their way over the lush green landscape as they continued through Pennsylvania. Steph stared in wonder out her window, because this was one of the many states she hadn't visited before. She'd gone north and south both, and left the country, but she hadn't explored much of America itself. She was a Gotham girl. She stuck to Gotham.

She couldn't wait to get home and tell her friends at college about the road trip she'd taken across the united states with the leather jacket wearing, suave, cute son of a billionaire. There was a chance they'd never believe her - not if she phrased it like that - but a cross-country road trip with a family friend? Yeah, she'd done that, and she was so happy to have gained this experience, and that Jason was the one she'd gained it with. It would have been different with Cass - more talking - and it would have been kind of awkward with Tim, even though they were good now, just because Tim, by nature, was an awkward person. She couldn't ever imagine road tripping with Dick or Barbara - though actually, a road trip with Dick AND Barbara would be hell on earth - but she was glad that out of all of the Wayne family, the person she'd gotten stuck in a car with for three days had been Jason Todd.

Jason, similarly, was glad that out of all the people he could have gone on this mission on, it had been Steph who had come, Steph who had agreed, and Steph who had let him drive them some three thousand miles across the United States. Steph was easy going, funny, and the absolute queen of road trip playlists. His siblings would have been weird about it - they were always so goddamn weird about it , even now, even still - but Steph looked at him, all of him, and just shrugged, and went on her merry way. She'd never made him feel awkward while they were working together, she'd never implied that she was too good to work with him, she just accepted him for how he was. And that, all in all, was a nice feeling.

They were flying down the highway in the early evening, the sun setting over behind them in the rear view mirror. Steph had her window down, letting the breeze toss her hair back from her face, and Jason was chewing on the sour gummy worms she was feeding him, grinning at the road. Now that Steph thought about this, this road trip was the most she'd ever seen Jason Todd smile, and she hasn't realised what a dazzling smile he had. They cranked up the music and sang along at the top of their lungs, laughing as they got ever closer to Gotham, as they were getting closer to home. Steph felt light, free, like nothing could stop them. They were nearly there. Just another hour and a half to go.

Then there was a bump, an awful shuddering lurch of the car, and a string of curse words out of Jason's mouth that would make even Stephanie's mother blush. Jason pulled to the side of the road, the car rolling over unevenly, like something was broken, and Jason killed the engine, muttering something under his breath about fucking potholes. 

"What was that?" Steph asked as they finally pulled to a stop. Something didn't feel right.

"We hit a pothole," Jason said. "Of course."

"Is the car okay?"

"I think we've blown a tire," Jason replied, clicking his seatbelt and stepping out of the car. He kneeled by the driver's side tire and looked at it closely, groaning to himself. He smacked the palm of his hand against ihs forehead, closing his eyes and muttering something under his breath. Steph unclipped her seatbelt and slid out of the car, checking the passenger side - which was fine - and both rear tires. It was only the driver's side.

"Think we've got a spare?" she asked. Jason nodded, standing up and moving to the trunk. He shoved their bags to the side and lifted the covering, pulling out the spare tire and the jack. Steph stood back and watched as he crouched down and made short work of getting the car up and pulling off the busted tire.

"You're good at that," Steph remarked. Jason shot her a grin.

"Easier to do it on this than on the Batmobile," he said. Steph blinked.

"You changed the tires on the Batmobile? I thought they were like...unbustable."

"Yeah, something like that," Jason said, twisting the brace to secure the tire back in place. He looked up at her, his eyes dark in the sunset light. "I tried stealing the wheels off the Batmobile. It's how I met Bruce."

"You what," Steph snorted, covering her face with both hands and she broke out in a fit of giggles. "Oh, my god. That's precious. That's amazing. Please tell me video footage exists of this."

"Probably, somewhere in the Cave," Jason laughed, leaning back on his heels to inspect what he'd done. "I was just a kid."

"Oh, I bet you were so cute," Stephanie said. "Little Jason and his petty thievery. That's adorable."

"Shut up," Jason laughed. "Come on. This is ready to go. Help me get the shit one back into the car and we should be right to go." Steph helped Jason drag it back to the trunk and store it inside, along with the jack and the tools he'd used. She re-covered it and pulled their bags back over the top, running her hand over the suitcase that had her costume in it. They were so close to Gotham, now - would it be totally crazy to go on patrol tonight?

"Hey," Steph said as they climbed back into the car. "Would it be totally crazy to go on patrol tonight?"

"Yes," Jason replied, pulling back out onto the road. "You need to go home, have a shower, get a decent night of sleep and check you haven't missed anything for your classes. Then you can think about going out and kicking some bad guy ass."

"What are you, my dad?" Steph snorted.

"No," Jason shot her a cheeky grin. "I'm your husband, and I want what's best for you."

Stephanie rolled her eyes, but she was smiling, and she reached out and gave Jason a friendly shove on the arm. "Focus on the road, you idiot. We're almost home."

The two of them shared a look when they crossed that last border, absolutely relieved to be in their home state. There was only an hour or so left on their journey, and Steph smiled, turning up the music and leaning back in her chair, eyes closed. The countryside melted away into towns before it melted away again, and soon enough, Jason was elbowing her in the side, waking her from her reverie with a soft, "We're here," as they crossed the town limits, and the giant billboard that said WELCOME TO GOTHAM CITY. Steph sighed in relief, clasping her hands in front of her and watching as suburbia slowly turned to city streets, as the landmarks became familiar again. They passed the building she had fallen off her third night as Robin, they passed the old Gotham City Bank, and finally, they passed Wayne Tower, and Steph exhaled slowly, taking in the lights of the city like it was the first time she'd ever come home.

"Right," Jason said. "Where to?"

"Oh," Steph said, realising he didn't know where she lived now. "It's just on Forsyth Street, it's like the fourth building down."

"Not a great area," Jason said, but he turned down the next street, following down the maze that was Gotham until he came to Forsyth Street, pulling up outside Stephanie's building. It was a squat, grey thing, made out of old cement stone and concrete flooring. It stood four storeys high. Steph was on the top floor, in an apartment that was honestly crowded and tiny, and she shared the floor with two other people, and one vacant apartment that had been for lease as long as she'd lived there. She didn't anticipate them getting someone in there any time soon, because rumours swirled around that it had been the site of a terrible gang related shooting, but Steph didn't mind the building, all in all. She was twenty-one, now, and it was time for her to move out of her mother's house, so she had moved downtown, to be closer to the heart of the action. And if any of her neighbours had seen Batgirl slipping into the building after a patrol when she was too tired to stop by the base and get changed? Nobody had ever said anything, and she felt pretty certain her secret identity was safe. 

"So this is it," Jason said, pulling up beside her building.

Steph sat there for a moment, staring up at it. "Yeah," she said. "This is it."

"Thanks for covering three thousand miles with me," Jason said. "And for helping me with that case. Hopefully Babs will have some good intel soon."

"Of course. Any time, Red Hood," Steph grinned at him, and he grinned back, looking down at her for a moment.

Steph grabbed her bags out of the trunk, and was surprised when Jason came up beside her, shouldering her suitcase with ease.

"Jason, I can carry my own bags upstairs. It's just three floors."

"Don't be ridiculous," Jason said, following her as she dug in her pockets for her keys. She found her wallet, her phone, and after a soft jingle sounded from under her wallet, the keys in question. Jason followed her up the three flights of stairs to the fourth floor, watching, unimpressed, as she took him up to the top floor.

"I thought some of my safehouses were bad," he said.

"Hey!" Stephanie replied. "This is my home. It's charming, when you get used to it."

"Alright," Jason chuckled as she opened the door and stepped inside. Her apartment was exactly as she'd left it, with a clutter of papers and textbooks on the kitchen bench and coffee table, her fuzzy Batman blanket thrown over the couch. Jason's eyes lit up when he saw it and he swiped it up, dropping her suitcase just inside the entryway.

"Oh my  _ god _ ," he said, holding it up. "You have a Batman blanket!"

"Shut up, Jason," Steph said, rolling her eyes and snatching it back. She wrapped it around her shoulders and wandered inside, checking on her succulents - still alive, the hardy little things - and the pile of mail her mother must have collected for her and left by the front door.

Jason lightly touched the succulents, running his fingertips over their delicate leaves as he wandered through her living space. He walked by her squashy grey couch and her walnut coffee table, glancing at the piles of textbooks and half-written essays scattered across its surface. He picked up one of the books from her literature class and thumbed through it, stopping to read one of the notes she’d scribbled in the margins for a moment, before setting it back down on the table, a small smile on his face.

“I’ll talk to Babs in the morning,” Jason looked over to her, and she nodded, folding the blanket she was holding. “I’ll let you know if there’s any paperwork that needs your signature.”

“Sure,” Steph replied, suddenly feeling shy. “Let me know how it goes. You can get my number off Babs, if you need, once you’ve got a new phone.”

“I oughta get going,” Jason said, walking back to the doorway, where Stephanie was still standing, blanket clutched in her hands. He stopped in front of her and looked down, a tender smile on his face. “Seeya, Steph. Thanks for the trip.”

“See you,” Steph echoed, and before she lost the nerve, she stood up on her toes and wrapped her arms around him, sinking into his grip and holding on tight. He patted her back twice, uncomfortably, and they broke apart, staring at each other for a moment before Jason cleared his throat and walked out with an awkward wave. The door closed behind him, leaving Stephanie solitary in her apartment, standing there still gripping the blanket in her hands tight, feeling suddenly, irrevocably alone.


	6. Chapter 6

Gotham gave Stephanie everything she ever wanted, and then some. There was her favourite local food truck on the corner when she got home from class, and she was able to buy enough tacos to satisfy her craving. There were criminals to punch, which she did, stopping a robbery in progress at the bank on the corner of two streets downtown. There were her friends - Jordanna and Francisco and Andi - and the ease with which she melted back into their group after her time away. She was sitting at lunch with them, laughing at something Francisco had said, when she still felt and pang of loneliness. Nobody was returning her calls - not even Cass, which had happened before, usually when everyone had gotten really into some mission, or when there was a worldwide, Justice League-level emergency, but no one had told her if anything was going on. Even Babs was suspiciously quiet, keeping things entirely mission-focused when they talked. It was unnerving. 

Steph wondered, briefly, if all of this had something to do with her and Jason. It wouldn't be the first time she'd been given the cold shoulder for doing something they considered reckless and ill-advised. But no one was telling her anything, which was frustrating enough, but not something she could do anything about.

Steph decided she was going to get to the bottom of this when her next text to Tim was read and not replied to. "Oh my god," she said aloud as she stared at the little read receipt on her phone screen.

"What's wrong?" Francisco asked, stealing one of her fries. She slapped the back of his hand and tucked her phone away.

"Some of my friends aren't talking to me, and I don't know why," Steph said, and as soon as she said it out loud, she realised how ridiculous it sounded. They were adults. They were busy people. Nobody was ignoring her, they were just busy. Tim was the CEO of a company for God's sake! She was being ridiculous.

"Maybe they're busy?" Francisco said, and Steph nodded, feeling a little bit silly. Of course they were busy. That's all that it was. She would go to Barbara's office and see her before her next class, see if Jason had spoken to her about getting their marriage annulled. Babs could do anything, so surely she'd done that by now.

That was one thing she hadn't mentioned to friends when talking about the road trip - that it had started with her wedding. She knew, she just knew, that they'd all find it absolutely absurd, and tease her endlessly about it. And right now, she just wanted everything to be normal.

She noticed Jordanna whispering something in Francisco's ear and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Francisco's eyes widened and he looked between the two women, a look of disbelief on his face.

"What?" Steph asked, annoyed.

"Nothing," Francisco and Jordanna said in unison. They shared a look, and Jordanna got up, tucking her phone back into her purse and flicking her long hair back over her shoulder. 

"It was good seeing you guys," she said. "Francisco, I'll catch you later. Steph, good luck with...everything."

"What?" Steph said, watching Jordanna's retreating back. She looked at Francisco, who was sipping his coke through his straw, slurping up the last of it between the ice cubes. "What was that about?"

"Um," said Francisco. "Nothing."

"Francisco," Stephanie narrowed her eyes. "I'm sorry, I have to take this, but I'll catch you later," Francisco said, holding up his vibrating phone. Steph huffed and finished her fries, gathering the trash to put in the bin before she left. On her way to Barbara's office, she watched as every student who walked by her stared, unsettlingly, with wide eyes at her walking by. She glanced around, confused, unsure as to what was going on or why. Was her hair a mess? Did she have ketchup on her face? She wiped her mouth on the back of her sleeve, just to be sure, but it came away clean. She continued walking through campus, hyperaware of the eyes on her.

"Hey, Steph!" Someone she didn't recognise called out to her, and she turned, seeing a freshman wave to her. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you?" Steph called back, looking around as though to guess why everyone was still staring at her. She made it to the office with fifteen minutes to spare before her next class, hoping Babs would be there and could explain what the hell was going on.

She knocked on the door, and waited for an answer. None came.

"Babs? Hello?" she called out, trying the knob, but it didn't turn. Babs wasn't in. She cursed under her breath and checked her phone. No, it was definitely within her office hours. Babs should have been there. "Can this day get any weirder?" Steph asked herself, folding her arms and starting the long walk back across campus to her next class. In class, she was hyperaware of everyone's eyes on her, of the whispers that seemed to be following her. It was getting downright absurd, and more than a little disturbing, so the moment class was over she shoved her textbooks back in her bag and walked across campus to the bus stop, waiting patiently for the bus that would take her back to Forsyth Street. When the bus arrived, Steph stepped inside, and was relieved to find that no one even looked twice at her. She passed a man reading a newspaper and glanced at it, for just a moment, seeing something in the headline about the Wayne family. She shrugged to herself, taking her seat and staring out the window at the Gotham streets that went by. Maybe that was why everyone seemed to be ignoring her. Some top secret Wayne Family Emergency. Little did she know, she was the Wayne Family Emergency, but that was something she was going to find out later. 

Steph made it back to her apartment building without incident, and she began the long, lonely climb up the three flights of stairs to the top floor. When she got there, she stepped inside, looking around at the mess that was her apartment. Fine, she thought. If she had nothing better to do, she was going to clean. An anxious clean of your living space always made her feel...well not better, per se, but at least a little bit more in control of her life. She started with the fridge. Five days away had left it full of rotting produce, so all of that made its way to the bin and she tore a page out of a nearby notebook to scribble a shopping list on. She stuck it on the fridge with her Superman magnet, reading over the list twice before returning to the fridge. She wiped down the shelves, tossing the dirty cloth away when she was done, and tipped out of the expired milk, wrinkling her nose as it swirled down the drain. She wiped down her kitchen counter, the sink, and managed to pack away some of the textbooks that were cluttering up the place. She thought of the essay she still had to write and sighed, wringing out the cloth and throwing it over the tap to dry. She flopped on the couch and picked up her phone, checking for any messages or texts, or even a missed call, but there was still nothing.

She scrolled through her contacts until she found Barbara Gordon and tapped the name, bringing her phone up to her ear. It rang out, which was unusual for Babs, so Stephanie left a voicemail.

"Hey, Babs. Tried to catch you at your office earlier but you weren't there. I know I'm not due for patrol tonight but I just wanted to check in. Can you ring me when you get this? Things are kind of weird right now. Thanks, bye," Steph hung up, dropping her phone on the couch and snuggling down into it, pulling her blanket over her. Fuck it, she thought. She was going to have a nap.

When she woke, it was dark outside, and Steph wandered through her apartment, flicking on lights and thinking about what to have for dinner. Her clean out had left her fridge bare and she'd napped instead of going to the store, so she opened the fridge to stare at its total lack of contents and sighed to herself. She was tired. She didn't want to think, not even about what to eat, so she did something she was fond of doing a little too often, when she was in this kind of mood. She decided she wasn't going to have dinner.

There were some chips in the pantry she could eat later, and even a bottle of pancake mix if she got truly desperate, so she decided that was good enough in the way of food and dawdled her way back to the rear of her apartment, where her bedroom and the bathroom were. After hesitating in her room for a moment, she opened her bedside table and pulled out one of the fancy bath bombs Cass had gotten her for Christmas. She decided she was going to run herself a bath and actually just relax for once in her life. She didn't need to go out and be Batgirl tonight - she'd put in an extra-long patrol the night before - and she had nowhere to be, and nobody was answering her fucking texts or calls, so she was going to carve out a little bit of Steph time. She had earned it.

Steph turned on the taps in the bathroom in her horrid shower-bath combo and let the water start pouring into the tub. She dropped the bath bomb in, watching as it fizzed and slowly dissipated through the water, turning it a brilliant purple with specks of silver glitter. Just handling the thing had left glitter all over her hands, so she rinsed them under the tap, wiping them on her jeans as she got ready to undress and climb in.

She soaked in the water until it went from warm to tepid to ice-cold, and then climbed out, wrapping herself in a towel and making her way back to her room. She dressed simply, in grey sweatpants and a black tank top, and ended up back on the couch, snuggled under her blanket and relaxing. She turned the television on and pulled up Netflix, scrolling through the options until she found something she could just zone out completely while watching. Her mind was still on the other vigilantes, and why they weren’t returning her calls and texts. She almost wanted to call Bruce, just to see if he would pick up - because she had no idea what she’d done wrong. Maybe things between Jason and the family weren’t as good as she’d thought, and she’d committed a great sin by working with him so closely over the past few weeks. She didn’t know. She didn’t want to think about it.

There was a knock at the door. Stephanie looked up from her phone and groaned, checking the time. It was after 11, which wasn't a time she usually had many visitors - not the kind that knocked on the door, anyway. She definitely wasn't supposed to be on patrol tonight. She'd checked and checked again before she'd run her bath and settled in for the evening. She'd been working on a couple of papers for school, and watching boring reality TV she didn't have to focus on or think about. The knock sounded again, and she got up, shuffling her way over to the door in her fuzzy purple slippers.

"Hey," Jason said when she'd opened it. He was standing out in the hallway, running his hand through his hair, giving her a sheepish grin. She immediately felt like something was wrong.

"What's wrong?" she asked, stepping aside to let him in. He walked in slowly, kicking off his boots by the door and wandering inside. There was a small bag in his left hand, and wafting off it was a truly delectable smell.

"I have some bad news," Jason said, and Stephanie shuddered. He held up the bag. “I also brought food.”

"What is it?"

“Dumplings,” Jason said, glancing at the bag. “I wasn’t sure what kind you’d want, so I got a container of pork and one of chicken.”

“No, not the food. What’s the bad news?”

"Okay, so you know how we're married," he started. Stephanie snorted, flopping down on the couch and tucking her legs up underneath her, playing with the hem of her sweat pants. "So it turns out in Gotham there's this law...that if you're married, you have to wait ninety days before you can get it annulled, even if the normal terms of annulment apply."

"What?" Stephanie asked.

"Yeah. So we can't annul it until, um. December."

"Oh, God," Stephanie mumbled, burying her face in her hands. "Okay. This is fine. Does anybody else know?"

"Apparently everyone knows?" Jason said uncertainly, and Steph felt her entire brain glitch at the thought. "So you know how I'm like...the prodigal Wayne son-"

"Miracle boy who got kidnapped in some foreign country at fifteen, was rescued last year, made a triumphant return as Bruce's son, yes, I'm familiar," Stephanie said.

"Somehow the Gotham Gazette got photos of our wedding and published them."

"What?"

"It's not as bad as it sounds!" Jason gave her a reassuring pat on the back. "But it does mean Bruce knows. And Babs, who laughed in my face when I asked her to fix it. And Dick...and Damian..."

"And Tim," Stephanie groaned. She and Tim were on good terms, but probably not quite marrying-his-older-brother terms. And Cass! Cass was going to kill her for not telling her sooner, but honestly, it had just...been a mistake, done as a part of the mission. Surely the rest of the family would understand?

This, however, explained why everyone was ignoring her. They were trying to do damage control for the Wayne family image, because Jason had gone and  _ married  _ some poor, rough, Gotham-born-and-bred college student instead of a society girl. In Vegas, of all places. Yeah, Steph thought, that would do it. Everyone probably thought she was an idiot. Damian definitely thought she was an idiot.

"So what do we do now?" Stephanie asked after a few moments of silence had passed. Jason shrugged, resting his hand on one fist.

"Well, that's why I came over. Bruce kind of wants us to...embrace it."

"What?"

"His exact words were, 'You made your bed Jason, now you have to lie in it.'"

"What does that even mean?" Stephanie asked. Jason laughed.

"I have no idea. But he offered to give us an apartment for the ninety days, to stop the scandal of us being married but not living together."

Stephanie perked up at that. An apartment? Paid for by Bruce? She was willing to bet it would be one of those fancy places he owned uptown. She wasn't going to object to that, not if she didn't have to pay for it. Though that left the question of what she was going to do with this apartment...she supposed she could work out the details later. She reached forward for the bag on her coffee table, pulling out a container of dumplings and cracking it open. The scent was incredible, and she inhaled deeply, pulling one out and taking a bite. Pork. They were her favourite. Jason reached forward and grabbed the other container, prying off the lid and pulling one free, shoving it in his mouth whole.

"Mmm," he said, chewing it and swallowing quickly, reaching for another. "These are so good. Here, try one!"

Before she could react, he'd shoved the chicken dumpling in her mouth, and she blinked, biting into it and chewing thoughtfully. He was right, they were good. So she put the containers between them and divvied up what remained, splitting each container into half pork, half chicken so they both got some of what remained. Jason shot her an easy grin and took his container back, opening up a little container of sauce to dip his dumplings in.

"Alright," Steph said eventually, after she'd had a little more in the way of food. "So we have to stay married for three months."

"Yup," Jason replied cheerfully.

"And to stop the great scandal for the Wayne family - which, for the record, I think is ridiculous, because Dick Grayson has caused more scandals than both of us combined, and Tim was the teenage CEO of a company - we have to live together for those three months."

"Yup," Jason repeated, taking a bite of a dumpling. 

"So," Stephanie leaned back, one hand over her full stomach. "Do you think you can stand being married to me for that long? I'm annoying."

"I don't think I could stand anybody else for that long," Jason replied. "Well, except maybe Roy, but when he and I were in Vegas we didn't get married, we just gambled and killed a - I mean, stopped a drug lord."

"I heard that," Stephanie laughed, shaking her head. "Don't worry about it, Jason. I might not agree with your methods for myself, but that doesn't mean I don't understand them."

"I don't do that anymore, for what it's worth," Jason said. "I mean, there's some people who - just - I'm not going to finish that thought."

Stephanie shrugged, because she had a fair idea of where that thought had been headed, and like she said, she understood that urge. Her father had fucked up her life enough times she'd, at least once, genuinely thought about it. The Joker had fucked things up enough times that she'd wished Bruce would just do it.

And that wasn't even mentioning Black Mask.

Steph considered herself able of great forgiveness, kindness even, but...some people...just didn't deserve that forgiveness. It was something she had talked about in therapy, at length. She hadn't been to therapy in months, but now, after today's little spiral, she was thinking it might not be such a bad idea to head back.

"Right," Jason said, once he'd finished his dumplings. "I'll get out of your hair. I just wanted to stop by with the news. And reassure you that, you know, the family don't hate you or anything. They've just all been dealing with Bruce, and it was easier to play dumb by saying nobody had spoken to you."

"Really?" Steph asked, surprised. It was certainly a more reasonable explanation than what she'd been assuming, but hey. It was hard to know what people were thinking when they weren't fucking talking to you.

"Yeah, really." Jason got up, gathering up the trash. He turned to go, but Steph reached up, grabbing the bottom of his jacket.

"Wait, Jason."

He turned back and looked at her expectantly, and she found she lost the nerve, and she shook her head, releasing his jacket from her grip.

"Yeah, Steph?"

"Don't worry about it." She forced a smile. "Enjoy the rest of your night. I'll see you tomorrow, we can work out what we're going to do about this apartment situation."

"Sure," Jason replied. "I'll stop by with the keys in the morning and we can check it out together?"

"It's a date," Steph joked. Jason shot her a grin and let himself out, and she watched as his retreating back walked out the door, taking the trash with him. She threw her head back and let out a groan, covering her face with both hands. This was exactly what she needed in her life right now, to be married - properly married! - to Jason Todd, and to have to stay that way for three months.

Babs probably thought this was hysterical. Bruce had probably cycled through the five stages of grief. Damian probably thought she was an idiot. Dick was probably doing damage control, and Tim - ugh. Steph didn’t want to think about how Tim was feeling, because he never ignored her texts like this, and she had this sinking feeling he was angry with her.

Steph didn’t want to think about that right now, though. So, with her hunger satisfied and her thoughts a mess, she went and crawled into bed, deciding that the whole situation could be dealt with come morning.   



	7. Chapter 7

Steph struggled with the pile of textbooks in her arms as she realised her phone was ringing.

"Here, let me," Jason said, and she dumped the books on top of the boxes he was holding and dug it out of her pocket. She glanced at the screen and winced. It was her mom.

"Hi," Steph said, answering the call.

"So were you going to tell me you married Gotham's most eligible bachelor, or was I supposed to find out myself by reading that gossip rag that is the Gotham Gazette?"

"Sorry, Mom," Steph said, pursing her lips. "I meant to tell you, I swear."

"Oh did you now," her mother replied. There was warmth and affection in her voice, though. "So tell me about the young man...how did you meet?"

"Um," Stephanie said. "He's Tim's older brother."

"Stephanie," her mother said, clearly surprised.

"We...reconnected a few months ago?" Steph said. "And we have a lot in common." Like being bad Robins, literature nerds, human disaster extraordinaires. Punching criminals. This case against the Romano crime family. She couldn't tell her mother any of that, though, so she left it vague.

"Well I'm happy for you," her mother said. Steph could hear the smile in her voice. "I can't wait to meet him."

"Uh, yeah," Steph said. "Of course. I'll....we'll have to do dinner, or something. He's a good cook. I think."

"I am," Jason interjected.

"He is," Steph said. Her mother let out a peal of laughter. 

"What are you up to, right now?" Crystal said. "I feel like we haven't caught up in forever, Steph."

"Actually, I'm in the middle of moving my stuff over to Jason's apartment," Steph replied, watching as Jason took the pile of boxes and textbooks down to the car, which was parked on the kerb. 

"I'll let you go then, sweetheart," Crystal said, her voice soft. "Good luck, my love. And congratulations!"

"Thanks, mom," Steph smiled, watching as Jason struggled with the armful of things and the car door. "I love you. Bye."

"Love you too," Crystal replied, and then the line went dead. Steph slipped her phone away and jogged down the pavement to give Jason a hand.

"Why do you own so much stuff?" Jason asked, tucking the textbooks under his chin as he tried to get the car door open. Steph reached out and opened it, letting him dump the two boxes and the textbooks on the back seat.

"I don't know, honestly," Steph replied. "I feel like I own too much stuff. I'm such a hoarder."

"Not that bad," Jason chuckled. "But you have a lot of textbooks."

"You try taking Barbara's computer science class, and tell me how many textbooks you need after," Steph rolled her eyes. "She works us hard."

"Yeah, I bet," Jason smiled. His smile seemed to come so easily, around her. She never understood why Tim and Cass thought of Jason as the grumpy one, the emotionless one. His smile shone like the sun. They piled the last of her bags into the car and Jason slammed the trunk shut, walking around to the driver's seat. Steph had already locked up before they came downstairs, so she climbed into the passenger seat, buckling herself in. They were still in the Audi, which Bruce had apparently offered up as a wedding present, much to Jason's amusement.

It was a twenty minute drive through the streets of Gotham to get to their new place. Bruce had offered up one of his penthouse apartments in the heart of the city, a modest apartment in an older building that had nearly made Steph swoon the first time they'd driven up to it. She nearly swooned again when Jason parked outside now, marvelling at the classical architecture and stone façade. Jason, for the most part, didn't seem all that impressed by it, but he diligently handed her copy of the keys over. She attached them to her keyring right there in the car, twisting the metal ring around so they'd slide on with ease.

"Right," Jason said, pulling the handbrake. "You grab the plants, I'll grab the boxes. We'll leave the textbooks and clothes for last."

"Sure," Steph said, opening the trunk to reveal her little collection of succulents in their grey and gold pots. She grabbed two pots, balancing them on her knee as she tucked them into the crook of her arm and grabbed the last one. She looked at the open trunk with her armful of plants, and huffed, realising there was no way she'd be able to get it shut. Jason realised her dilemma because he was over in a second, slamming the lid down and picking up a box of her things from where he'd left it on the sidewalk. He stacked the boxes three high and lifted them easily, with no strain at all, in his muscular arms. Steph followed him down the path that led to the front door of their building, 

"So I haven't actually been inside yet," Jason said, shifting his weight so the boxes balanced a little easier. "But Alfred said it was nice."

"I trust Alfred's judgement," Steph said, waiting for the elevator to take them up to the top floor. It was a relief to not have to take the stairs five floors up. They had the whole top floor to themselves, which Steph found amazing. She was already imagining a beautiful, sleek, modern space, with fancy hardwood furniture and a kitchen full of the latest appliances. When they stepped off the elevator, she was greeted by a black door, with 14 on it in gold letters. She stepped off into the hallway outside their apartment and balanced a pot on her knee as she fished out her keys to hand Jason. He unlocked the door, and they stepped inside, not knowing what they were about to face.

"Welcome home," Jason said as they walked inside.

The floors were a polished hardwood, the floorboards gleaming chestnut in the warm light streaming in through the large windows that ran down one wall. The drapes - a tasteful, dusky blue - were tied back off the windows so the natural light could illuminate the beautiful apartment. Against the wall, between two windows, was a flat screen television about twice the size of Stephanie's, sitting on top of a black cabinet with glass panelled doors in front of it and shelves full of DVDs and video games. The couch was an L-shaped, squashy thing, the same blue as the curtains, rounding out the living space from the kitchen and dining area nicely. There was a dining table made of a dark wood, with a full fruit bowl sitting in the middle of it. Stephanie wandered over and put the plants down, resolving to find them their new homes once she had finished exploring.

The kitchen was to the immediate left of the door, with a white tiled floor and ample counter space, marble counters and large cupboards underneath them, already filled with pots and pans, cutlery and crockery. The plates and bowls were glazed blue-and-white dinner plates, with matching ceramic bowls sitting beside them. Steph closed the cupboard she'd opened and continued on, checking out the fridge, the toaster and the kettle. The fridge had an ice dispenser in the door, which Steph marvelled at, grabbing a glass from the nearby cupboard and filling it with ice.

"Look!" she said, holding it up to Jason. "I feel so rich. This was like, the height of luxury when I was a kid." 

"You're such a dork," Jason chuckled. "Pass it over here."

Steph obliged, and he poured tap water over the ice, filling the glass and taking a long sip. He held it out to her, and she took it back, taking a drink herself of ice-cold, fresh water. She set the glass down on the marble countertop and continued exploring. The toaster and kettle were both the same sleek stainless steel of the fridge, all matching, something that absolutely fascinated Steph. Her toaster at home was an ancient thing that half the settings didn't work on any more - your toast either came out black or it came out barely toasted at all. She much preferred barely toasted to black, but she usually had to put the toast in a few times to get it to a good, properly toasty consistency. Behind the kitchen was a hallway which led down to the bedrooms and bathroom. There were two rooms that Steph could see, and an open door that was the bathroom. The bathroom, tragically, did not have a separate shower and bath, but instead a huge bathtub against one wall with a showered over it, and glass panelling around the sides in what didn't make a lick of sense to Stephanie. She poked her head into the first room and found a home office.

"Um," she said. And then she opened the last door in the hallway, and her suspicions were confirmed. "Jason!"

"What?" Jason yelled back, still in the kitchen.

"Come here!"

Jason diligently followed her footsteps down the hallway and joined her in the doorway of the bedroom.

"Remember that hotel in Colorado?" Steph said. "There's only one bed."

"Of course there is," Jason pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. "I bet this is some kind of joke. I bet Dick put Bruce up to this."

"Maybe he just didn't think about it," Steph said, but she knew better than that. Bruce would have considered this, and he had apparently decided they were going to suffer for their mistake.

"I'll sleep on the couch," Jason offered. "You've seen that thing, right? It's practically a bed itself."

"Alright," Steph said. "Fine by me," and she closed the door on the lone bedroom, with its queen sized bed and gauzy curtains. The two of them continued their way through the apartment, investigating the cupboards, the bookshelves that lined the walls. Bruce had apparently decided they had some fondness for classic literature, because the shelves were full of it - but there were modern books there, too, when Stephanie looked, books she had only heard of but hadn't gotten around to reading. Actually, she was pretty sure some of them were on her Amazon wishlist, and damn if Bruce still didn't seem to know everything about every member of the bat brood.

"Let's get the last of the stuff out of the car," she said, and Jason nodded, following her back out to the elevator and riding it down with her. When they stepped outside, there was the click of a camera, and Steph glanced around wildly, stepping closer to Jason involuntarily. Jason stared the culprit down with a dead look in his eye.

"Hey," he called out to the paparazzi that had gathered on the footpath near their car. "Fuck off."

"Jason," Steph said, placing a hand on his shoulder. There was another click from a camera. "We're meant to be avoiding a scandal, not starting one."

"If someone wants photos of us, they can wait for us to do a press conference or some shit. These clowns," he raised his voice, and it was full of venom, "Can fuck off!"

"Mr Todd!" One of them called out. "Are you and Mrs Todd expecting?"

"No!" Jason said, and he swore under his breath. "Steph, go back inside. I'm going to talk to these bozos."

"Jason, I can talk to them myself," Stephanie said, stepping forward. The paparazzo - who was really just one idiot with a camera, and another idiot trailing after him, apparently thinking they could make big bucks by selling photos of Jason and Stephanie to the media - looked at her eagerly.

"Would you like to comment, Mrs Todd?"

"Yeah," Stephanie said. "Like my husband said, fuck off. Please."

They looked a little taken aback at that, but when Jason took a step towards them, they scattered, heading back to their car. Stephanie rolled her eyes and walked down to the Audi, waiting for Jason to unlock it so she could pull out the last of her things. A few textbooks, her suitcase from the backseat. She'd packed enough clothes to last her a couple of weeks, but she knew she'd be heading back to the apartment - her apartment - to get more soon. Bruce had generously offered to pay the rent on her place while she and Jason were living together, even though they were living in his apartment rent-free. Steph didn't know what she'd done to deserve free accommodation for the next three months, but hey, if marrying Jason got her those perks, she'd marry him every day of the week.

“Does that happen a lot?” Steph asked. “The paparazzi?”

“I wouldn’t call them paparazzi,” Jason snorted. “But yeah, I get dickheads who recognise me and snap pics all the fucking time. People are too scared to do it to Bruce, but me, Dick, Tim, we’re all fair game.”

“Somehow I don’t remember it happening when I was dating Tim,” Steph said.

“That was before Timmy was CEO of Wayne Enterprises, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, fair point.” Steph sighed and pulled her suitcase free. “What about Damian?”

“He’s too young. Not interesting enough for the Gazette, even if he’s Bruce’s-” Jason pulled a face at this, “Blood son.”

Stephanie pulled a face at that, too. Damian didn’t say that any more - but she had seen the magazines in the hands of other Gotham U students. They still called Damian Bruce’s true heir, amongst other stupider, shittier things. Bruce didn’t pay it any attention, but she knew it stung the boys in different ways. For Damian, it was a reminder of who he’d been before his growth. For the others…they were Bruce’s real kids. But the rest of the world didn’t always see it that way.

The two of them walked back up to the elevator, standing side by side in it as they made their way back up to the apartment. Once inside, Steph took her textbooks and clothes to the bedroom and deposited them on the bed, resolving to unpack them later. She returned to the kitchen, where Jason was slicing up an apple, his deft hands making short work of the fruit. He grinned at her, relaxed, and held out a piece. She took it from him and bit into it, feeling the crisp, sweet taste burst on her tongue. It was fresh. It was good.

"Do you want to head back to get some more of your stuff?" Jason asked, biting into his own piece. and crunching.

"No, I've got enough for now," Steph replied, leaning up against the kitchen counter. "What about you? What about your stuff?"

Jason pointed to a single duffle bag in the corner of the living room. "That's all I need."

"You brought one bag of clothes? That's it?"

Jason shrugged. "I pack light."

Steph shook her head, in disbelief, and was about to remark further when there was a knock on the door.

It swung open, and Dick stuck his head inside.

"Knock knock," he said. "It was open. Can I come in?"

"By all means," Jason said, rolling his eyes at his brother, "Just let yourself into our apartment."

"I'm pretty sure it's still Bruce's apartment," Dick said, squinting at Jason, but he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

"Hi, Dick," Steph said, tilting her head so the side and looking him up and down. He shot her a warm smile and walked over, pulling her into a tight hug. She squeaked, surprised, and struggled against it for a moment before she conceded and hugged him back.

"What's this for?" She asked, with a faceful of his shoulder.

"Welcome to the family," Dick replied. "Officially."

Steph blinked, looking over to Jason, who rolled his eyes and went back to munching on his apple in a moody silence. Steph gave Dick an awkward pat on the back and they broke apart. He grinned at her, brushing his dark hair off his tanned face, blue eyes sparkling as they always did.

"I mean it," he said. "You're officially one of us now."

"It's only until December," Steph said, and Dick shook his head, waving her off.

"Yeah, you guys won't be married after December, but you'll always be one of us now." Dick grinned. "And I wanted to be the first to say it."

Steph laughed, shaking her head. She half hoped Cass and Tim would follow him inside, but the door remained shut, and the other Wayne siblings were nowhere to be seen. Steph sighed. She still hadn't heard from Tim, and she had know idea how he was taking it. - but maybe Dick would know.

"Hey, Dick," she asked, and Dick looked up, giving up on his quest to steal the last of the apple from Jason. Jason shoved his brother off him and they both looked at her expectantly, waiting for what she had to say next. "How's Tim going?"

"Tim's great," Dick grinned. "He was a bit thrown for a loop when he heard you two were married, but once he stopped laughing he was fine."

"Laughing?" Steph asked, but Dick ignored her, returning to his task of stealing Jason's food.

"I brought you something," Dick said around a mouthful of apple, having apparently been successful in stealing a slice from Jason's plate. Jason was shooting daggers at him with his eyes, glaring at the back of his brother's head like that would be enough to knock him out. He glanced at Stephanie for a second and his expression softened, just a little, before he looked back at Dick and narrowed his eyes again.

"What do you mean, you brought us something?" Steph asked, and Dick held up one finger, walking back over to the table by the door, where he'd left a small, modestly wrapped package. The clean white paper was taped at both ends, and it had a gaudy blue bow affixed atop it. Steph hadn't even noticed him bring it inside, but he walked over and picked it up, holding it out to her. She looked between it and Jason, who shrugged, and she took it from Dick gingerly, sliding her thumbnail under the tape to pry it free. The wrapping paper fell away, and in her hands she held a picture frame. It was of a decent size, dark wood frame that matched the floors, and when she flipped it over to see what was inside she nearly punched Dick herself. Jason leaned over to look at it and snorted, closing his eyes and letting out a breath.

"Really?" Steph asked. It was the front page of the Gotham Gazette from six days ago - the article that had told the world, and their respective families, that they were married. Steph wanted to rip it out of the frame and tear it into tiny little pieces, but Jason reached over, taking the frame out of her hands gently and turning it around so he could read the article properly.

"I thought you'd like it," Dick gave her a cheeky grin, not unlike Jason's. She wondered if it was something they'd both learned from Bruce, even though she couldn't ever imagine circumstances calling for Bruce to offer up such a completely satisfied, amused grin to the rest of the world.

"I hate all of you," Jason deadpanned. "The entire family. You're never welcome in my apartment again."

"Bruce's apartment," Dick corrected, laughing.

"Our apartment," Steph corrected him back. "At least until December."

"Alright, alright," Dick held his hands up in mock defeat, still grinning. "Your apartment. I won't invite myself over any more. And I definitely won't come bearing gifts, if this is how they'll be received."

Neither Stephanie or Jason believed a word he said. The Wayne family were great at a lot of things, but boundaries weren't one of them. Steph had woken many times to Cass just standing in her room, or Tim making coffee in her kitchen. The Waynes just invited themselves in, no matter where you were - and she had no doubt it was worse for Jason, as their brother. If they even knew where he lived. Now that she thought about it, Steph didn't know where he lived. In Gotham, obviously. But she wasn't sure where.

"Nice seeing you, Dick," Jason said pointedly. Dick took the hint, walking over to the door.

"It was good seeing you, Steph!" He called behind him as he walked out. "Welcome to the family!"

When he was gone, Steph groaned and rubbed her eyes, which suddenly felt gritty and tiresome. Jason was still holding the framed article of their wedding night, and Steph looked at it, staring at the photo of her very drunk in a tiny purple dress. She looked like any other Gotham girl, hitting the town with her boyfriend. Jason looked even more unkempt, grinning at the camera with a suave smile, half his shirt buttons undone. It had been hot inside the chapel.

"Where do you want to hang this?" Jason asked, holding it up. She gave him the side-eye.

"You can't be serious," she said. "That article practically ruined both our lives."

"Ouch, Steph, that's a bit harsh," Jason said. "Look, I hate it as much as you do, but...this isn't the worst thing in the world, right? We can stay married for three months."

Stephanie's gaze softened. "Yeah, of course we can. You're a great guy, Jason. Anybody would be lucky to have you."

"Guess you're the lucky one, this week," Jason laughed. He had built up a bit of a reputation as a playboy, somehow, even though Steph knew for a fact he'd had no significant relationships at all, ever. But you get caught hanging around bars with pretty girls - and Roy - enough times, the tabloids would make assumptions, even if they weren't even close to the truth. Jason chose to hang the framed article up over the hall table by the door, because there was already a hook in the wall there. Steph stared at it, unimpressed, and went back to finding places for her plants. She placed one on the hall table, underneath the framed article; she meandered her way through the house until she found another place to put one, this time on the bookshelf that still had place at the end of a row of books, held up by carved marble bookends. They looked heavy, and more expensive than anything Stephanie actually owned, but her grey-and-gold accented pots complemented them nicely. Steph loved the apartment - she did, she was absolutely thrilled with it - but even with the little pieces of her life everywhere, it didn't feel like home, yet. It didn't feel like it was really theirs, hers and Jason's. It probably never would, to her at least, because she knew it was - as Dick at had kept reminding them - Bruce's apartment, and she and Jason were just living there for the next three months.

Still, she thought, opening the linen closet and looking inside at the overflowing shelves, pulling out a purple knitted blanket that had been left inside and throwing it over the back of the couch, there were little things she could do to make herself more comfortable here. The plants were one. Her clothes, once they were in the wardrobe, would be another.

"So," Jason said, while she was standing around fussing with the smaller details of their home. "I know Alfred stocked the fridge and we've got all this fresh produce and expensive cheese and wine - I don't drink wine, do you? - but we have like, practically nothing in the way of food either of us will actually eat and enjoy."

"You don't know what I'd enjoy," Stephanie said. "I might be willing to take a chance on what's in the fridge."

"Goat's cheese?" Jason asked, and laughed when Steph wrinkled her nose, shaking her head. "Yeah, I thought as much. I'll head down to the store and pick up something for dinner. There's pasta in the pantry, how do you feel about that?"

"Sure," Steph said, shrugging. She remembered Jason saying he was a good cook and narrowed her eyes at him. "Can you actually cook, or am I going to end up ordering us a pizza?"

"I can actually cook," Jason promised, collecting his keys and heading out the door. "I'll be back soon."

"Wait," Steph said, looking around the very large, very empty apartment. "Take me with you."

"Sure," Jason said, and the two of them headed down together, climbing in the car and taking the short journey to the nearest store. Outside, the air had taken a chill to it, and Steph spied a couple of trees with changing leaves, a vibrant orange and red in the stark grey of the city streets. She hummed to herself, under her breath, and was grateful she had thought to pull on a sweater before she'd left the house that morning. Jason, predictably, was in a grey t-shirt and his leather jacket, finished by jeans and boots. Clothing for all weather, as her mother would say. Still, Steph thought, if he didn't invest in a scarf and gloves soon, he'd freeze his fingers off.

The trees lining the path were a beautiful burnt umber, each leaf a different shade of brown, red or gold. There was a little line of Japanese maples outside the store with brilliant scarlet leaves, and Steph grinned, even when the breeze tossed a handful of those leaves into her face. Fall was her favourite season, and it wasn't just because she could get as many pumpkin spice lattes as she wanted.

"Alright," Jason said, as they stood outside the car, staring at the store together. Steph shivered as a cool breeze whipped past them. Just last week, the dying edges of summer had left everything warm and beautiful, aglow in the soft summer light. Fall had taken grip with a vengeance.

"What do we need?" Steph asked, and Jason listed off the ingredients of the pasta he was making, including cream, bacon, and ricotta cheese.

"We already have garlic at home, thanks to Alfred," Jason told her, and Steph nodded, because their fridge and pantry were well-stocked. Just, as Jason said, not with simple stuff. There were plenty of ingredients, but not much in the way of easy to make meals.

As she followed Jason into the store, she heard the click of a camera and sighed. Jason rolled his eyes, and turned, ready to throw hands with whoever had taken the photo, but Steph had a better idea.

"Let's give them something worth talking about," she said, and she reached out and slipped his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together. They fit together like puzzle pieces, his hands and hers, slotting into each other easily. Jason looked down, in surprise, and swung their hands together experimentally. Steph grinned at him, and his grip tightened, just a little, squeezing her hand as they walked into the store. There was another click and flash from a nearby camera, but Steph paid it no mind, and while Jason looked annoyed, he didn't say anything, just holding her hand tight and leading the way through the unfamiliar maze of this grocery store. He didn't let go, even once they were inside, and Steph found herself tightening her grip, too, holding onto Jason like she never wanted to let go.


	8. Chapter 8

They were standing in the kitchen talking when there was a knock at the door.

"Bit early for company," Steph said, yawning and wiping the sleep from her eyes. She walked over to the door and peered through the peephole to see who was there. There was a uniformed young man on the other side, staring off into the distance as he waited for someone to answer the door. She glanced at Jason, confused, and slid the bolt back and opened it.

"Good morning, ma'am," The young man said. "Are you..." he checked his clipboard. "Mrs Stephanie Todd?"

"Um," Steph said, not really sure how to answer that. She hadn't changed her name on any official documents, because she had no intention of going through that process. She was still Stephanie Brown, but the media had started referring to her as Stephanie Todd, and she didn't know what to make of it. "Yes, that's me."

"I have some packages here for you," he said, patting a box on the trolley beside him. It was piled high with boxes, some neatly wrapped and covered in ribbon, others in more plain boxes, all piled high and addressed to Stephanie and Jason Todd, c/o Wayne Tower. 

"We didn't...order anything, " Steph said.

"No ma'am," the courier said, holding out his clipboard for her to sing. "These are your wedding gifts. They arrived at Wayne Tower, and the company passed them along to us to give to you."

"Our what?" Jason said behind her, coming to stand in the doorway and stare at the pile of presents. He and Steph shared a disbelieving look. Wedding presents? From who?

"If you'd just sign here," the courier cleared his throat, tapping on the clipboard and holding out a pen. Steph took it, scribbling her name down on the little box, and handed it back to the courier, staring at the piles of gifts that were apparently for them. The courier wheeled the trolley inside and deposited the gifts, all of them, on the dining table, before leaving with a jaunty wave. Steph and Jason stood there, a little awkwardly, and shared another look, neither wanting to make the first move towards the gifts.

"What...do you think they got us?" Stephanie asked.

"I don't know," Jason said slowly, clenching and unclenching his fists, a nervous tic leftover from his Robin days. "I don't even know who would send us anything."

"Well, should we...open them?" Steph asked, taking a step towards them and then hesitating.

"Let's finish breakfast first," Jason said, making his way back to the kitchen, where he'd been pouring out cereal and slicing fruit before the courier had turned up. Steph followed him, accepting a bowl of cereal covered in sliced banana, the milk sloshing as she made her way to the couch to eat. She shoved a spoonful of cereal into her mouth, watching Jason from the corner of her eye, chewing slowly before swallowing. She couldn't have waffles for breakfast every day, she supposed, but it still would be nice.

"You can't have waffles for breakfast every day," Jason said, like he'd read her mind. "You need to eat some fruit and fibre as well."

"I do," Steph grumbled, but she didn't, not really. She was kind of glad Jason was trying to look out for her. It was...nice.

The two of them ate in mostly silence, both occasionally glancing at the pile of gifts and back at each other, awkward and silent. Neither of them knew what to do about it, but once they'd both finished and Stephanie gathered their bowls to take to the sink, they stood back and stared at the haul laid out on their kitchen table.

"So," Steph said, leaning against the sink.

"So," Jason replied, stepping over to the table and picking up the first gift on top. It was in a plain black box, and had a card attached to it. He pried the card off the box, tossing the envelope inside, and opened it. His face immediately paled.

"Who's it from?" Steph asked. He looked up at her with wide eyes.

"Talia al Ghul," he said.

"What?" Stephanie asked. "Like...Damian's mom?"

"There's only one Talia al Ghul I know, unless you happen to know one that isn't Damian's mom," Jason said, holding the card out to her. Steph took it and read what was written inside, in looping cursive.

_To my dearest Jason and Stephanie,_

_Wishing you both all the best in this new chapter of your lives. I hope only for many blessings to come upon your house._

_Mabrook,_

_Talia al Ghul_.

"What does that mean?" Steph asked, pointing to the card. Jason leaned over and read it.

"Congratulations," he said. "Should we open the gift?"

"I guess so," Stephanie said, and Jason pulled the box towards him, pulling off the lid and looking inside. 

"Jesus," he said. Stephanie leaned over to peer over his shoulder and blinked.

Inside were two sets of throwing knives - one was larger, designed for a man's hands, and coloured a deep crimson with black handles wrapped in dark leather. The second set were smaller, slimmer, and looked more well-balanced, and were a deep, rich purple, the colour associated with royalty of old, with silver edges and white-wrapped handles. Steph picked one up and held it loosely in her hand, getting a feel for the weight and the balance of it, and looked up at Jason, a grin breaking out on her face.

"Is it kind of wrong that I love them?" she asked. Jason took out one of his and twirled it in his hand.

"I do too, he admitted, and looked around for something to throw it at. Stephanie, sensing what he was about to do, rapped him across the knuckles with the flat side of her knife's blade.

"Don't you dare," she said, placing the knife back in the box. "We can't afford to fix the drywall in this apartment if you go around putting holes in the walls with our wedding presents."

"I wasn't going to," Jason lied, but he definitely was.

Steph reached for another gift, this one in a rectangular wooden box. There was a piece of heavy folded card attached to it, and she pulled it off, opening it to read the message inside. She snorted.

"Jason," she said, her voice sing-song, "Look, it's from your best friend."

"Who?" Jason said, and he read the card. He snorted. "You're kidding."

"Dear Jason and Steph," Stephanie read aloud, humour colouring her voice, "Thanks for a great night. Wishing you a long and happy marriage. Dominic Romano."

"What did he get us?" Jason said. "Mobsters give good gifts, right?"

"It's wine," Steph said, pulling the bottle out of the box. Jason's eyes widened when he saw it.

"That is...a really expensive bottle of wine," he said.

"How would you know?" Stephanie asked, holding it up and studying the label.

"I did live with Bruce for my teenage years," Jason said, taking the bottle from her and examining it for himself. It was a red, aged several years, and it was definitely too expensive to drink. "What are we gonna do with it?"

"I don't know, Jason," Steph said. "I don't know what to do with any of this stuff."

Jason set the wine aside and picked up another gift, giving it a small shake as he did. This one was wrapped in blue paper, with silver ribbon around it. He pulled the bow free and set the ribbon down on the table, the card coming loose as he did. He set the box down and opened the card.

"Dear Jay and Steph," he read to her, leaning up against one of the dining chairs. "Mazel tov! Love, Aunt Kate."

"I don't have an Aunt Kate," Steph said, narrowing her eyes. Jason snorted, throwing the card down on the table.

"It's from Kate Kane," he said. "Bruce's cousin. Batwoman."

"Batwoman is Bruce's cousin?!" Steph exclaimed.

"Oops. Did I just reveal a secret identity you didn't know?" Jason laughed. "Oh, well, you're one of the family now."

"I knew that Batwoman was called Kate," Steph said, "I just didn't know she was Kate Kane. Like. That Kate Kane. Open the present."

Jason pulled the wrapping paper off and pulled the lid off the box inside. He pulled out a hand-blown glass vase, coloured a deep blue that faded up to a crystal clear. It was absolutely stunning to behold, and Steph reached for it, a little entranced by it.

"This is more expensive than anything I've ever owned," she whispered.

"You say that about a vase and not a four thousand dollar bottle of wine?" Jason asked. Stephanie blinked.

"Wait, the wine Dominic got us is four thousand dollars?"

"Yes! How expensive did you think I meant when I said expensive!"

"I don't know!" Steph replied. "A couple hundred, I guess." 

Jason snorted, and started going through the rest of the gifts. They were mostly from Gotham's old families, the Elliotts, the Falcones, the Sullivans. Steph recognised a lot of the names only as connected to criminals she'd helped take down over the years, but she said nothing, looking at each gift in disbelief every time they opened a new one. Crystal wine glasses, more bottles of wine, towels made of Egyptian cotton, matching fragrances, and more. Steph unearthed a tiny box from the pile and held it out to Jason.

"What do you think it is?" she asked. Jason took it and turned it around in his hands. 

"I don't know," he said. "Does it have a card?"

Steph held up the slip of paper that had been attached to the box.

_Jason and Stephanie,_

_Thought you could use some of these. Bruce told me what you'd used for a ring and I thought we could do a little better. With love, Selina._

"You don't think...whatever it is was stolen, do you?" Stephanie asked. Jason frowned, and offered her a shrug, opening the box.

Inside were two rings, a plain silver band on one side, and a silver ring with a glittering diamond in it. Steph blinked, taking it off Jason and staring down at the two rings.

"No way," she breathed. "Oh, these have to be stolen. They're so nice."

"Selina doesn't steal off just anybody," Jason said. "I think she actually bought these."

"But..." Steph looked at the note again. "She said Bruce told her. That means she knows it's not...real, right?"

Jason shrugged. "Maybe she thinks it'll get the media off our backs," he said. "I know it's going to pop up in some magazine sooner or later that we're not wearing rings."

"What, so you think we should wear them?"

"I don't see why not," Jason said, pulling the diamond ring out and offering his hand out to her. She gave him her left hand, feeling keenly aware of the last time they'd done this, when he'd been slipping a ring pop on her finger. He slid the ring onto her third finger, their hands lingering for just a moment before Steph pulled away, holding her hand out, fingers splayed, so she could stare at the ring properly. It glittered on her hand, delicate silver in the soft light.

"I take it back," Steph said quietly, staring at her ring. "This is the most expensive thing I've ever owned."

"So far," Jason said, slipping his own ring on his left hand. "There's still like ten presents to go through."

Steph pulled the nearest box close to her. She pulled it open, and nestled inside was a beautiful wooden cheeseboard and a card on soft blue cardstock. Written inside was _Wishing you both the best, with love from Lois and Clark Kent_. Steph blinked and set it aside, letting Jason read the card. He chuckled to himself, but she didn't know why, so instead she grabbed another gift, this time in a small envelope.

"Oh!" Steph said. "This one's from Cass."

"Our Cass?" Jason asked, confused. "Cassandra Cain?"

"Yeah." Steph read the card and grinned. "Jason and Stephanie. Thank you for the most entertaining hour of my life. Love, Cass."

"What did she give us?" Jason asked, chuckling.

"Tickets to see the ballet," Stephanie said, holding them up. "Hey, maybe this could be our first official outing as a couple."

"Be good for the paparazzi," Jason agreed, taking the tickets off of her. "What are we seeing? Oh, Sleeping Beauty. Not bad."

"Never seen it," Steph said, tucking the tickets back into the envelope. "Do you think I'd like it?"

"Probably," Jason replied. He picked up another box, giving it an experimental shake. Steph wished he'd stop doing that, because everything they'd opened so far had either been expensive, beautiful, or delicate, or some combination of all three. He pulled off the lid and tilted his head to one side. "This is from Damian," he said.

"How do you know?" Steph asked, standing on her toes to peer inside. "There's no card."

"Look at it," Jason said, holding the box out to her so she could get a proper view. Inside, laying on soft tissue paper side by side, were two frames - the wood matched the framed newspaper Dick had given them earlier, but it wasn't further media coverage of their misadventures inside. No, in these frames were two pencil drawings, done in clearest detail, one of Jason staring moodily into the distance, and one of Stephanie smiling from ear to ear, a grin bestowing her face unlike which she'd ever seen. It was as though whoever had drawn it had captured her in her brightest moment, and she realised at once these had to be from Damian, there was no one else she knew who could capture the spirit of someone in a work of art that way.

"Wow," she said softly, reaching out and touching the glass in the frame, her fingers lingering over Jason's dark gaze. "When do you think he drew these?"

"I don't know," Jason said. "I don't even know why he's giving them to us."

Stephanie abandoned their quest of opening gifts until she found a place in the apartment where two hooks hung close enough together she could put up the frames and the two images would hang just across from each other, so they could be appreciated together, as intended. She hung them gently, hers on the left, Jason's on the right, and stared up at the delicate drawings of the two of them. She looked so happy. Jason looked so...like himself. It was a difficult feeling to articulate.

"Hey, Stephanie," Jason called out, from where he was still sorting through the pile of remaining gifts. Stephanie peeked around the corner to see him with a huge grin on his face.

"What? What is it?"

"Come look," he said, holding out a note. Stephanie made her way over and took it from him, peering down at the finely lettered note.

_Dearest Master Jason and Miss Stephanie,_

_I hope this set brings you as much joy as your nuptials have brought me._

_With kindest regards,_

_Alfred Pennyworth._

"As much joy as - oh, he's being sarcastic." Stephanie snorted. "What did Alfred get us?"

"A tea set," Jason said gleefully, stepping aside so she could see it. It was a white teapot decorated with blue embellishments, and a matching cup on either side, made of fine porcelain laying neatly in the velvet lining of the case. With it came a small box of loose-leaf tea, for steeping. Stephanie ran a finger over the exquisite decoration on the teapot, following each graceful line with the tip of her finger. Jason set it aside and picked up the next gift.

"Why are they giving us all this stuff?" Steph asked, looking down at the ring on her finger. "Kate, Alfred, Damian, Selina, they all know this is..." she trailed off, not wanting to say fake, because nothing about this felt fake, but... "You know. It was an accident, and it's not like we're going to stay married. Why would they go to all this trouble?"

"Because they think it's funny," Jason replied, sliding the tape off the next package. "Think about it, how often does something happen we all get to laugh about and celebrate?"

"Not often," Steph admitted. She hadn't even acknowledged her twenty-first birthday because they'd been in the middle of an alien invasion at the time. "I'm grateful for all this generosity from everyone, I am, but I just don't get it."

"Well, the old families makes sense," he said. "It would be a huge snub if one of their kids got married and Bruce didn't send anything. So they feel like they have to send us something."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense," Steph said, pulling the card off the present Jason was holding, because he was still taking his sweet time with it. She unfolded the cream-coloured cardstock and read it quietly to herself.

"Hey, it's a crystal bowl. That's cool. Fancy," Jason said, pulling it out of the box and holding it up to the light, where it dazzled the room in a rainbow of refracted light, glittering and shining in the gaze of the morning sun. "Steph?" he said, lowering it, looking at her. "Steph, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Steph choked out, dropping the card and turning and walking away, leaving Jason standing there, confused and alone. He picked up the card and read it, and realisation dawned on him.

_Jason and Stephanie,_

_Congratulations on your union. Wishing you all the best for your future._

_All the best,_

_Roman Sionis_


	9. Chapter 9

Stephanie woke up screaming.

She sat up in bed, breathing hard, feeling as though every gasp of air was an effort, sucking it into her lungs like she would never find enough of it. Desperation clawed at her throat, her lungs, and she felt herself clawing too, her nails dug deep into the soft flesh of her exposed neck. Her screams gave away to sobs, and she curled up, each cry wracking her slender frame with another shudder, another movement. She tried to ground herself - breathe in, breathe out - but all that seemed to help was the feeling of her nails in her skin. It wasn't the first time she had woken from a nightmare, and it would certainly never be the last, but this one had felt so real. They all did, but every time it shook her to her core. There was something about these nightmares that was different, something she could never place, except that they came from the darkest recesses of her memory. Her subconscious brought up terrible images of blades and burning and iron pipes and pain, and worst of all, every time, that black mask leering at her, that face that was not a face, dominating every corner of her mind.

"Fuck," she whispered hoarsely, dropping her head between her knees as she cried. "Fuck."

"Stephanie?" The light flicked on, and Jason stepped inside the master bedroom, looking dishevelled, with bed hair and in nothing but a singlet and boxers. The apartment ran warm at night, they'd both found. They hadn't figured out how to adjust the heating. "Steph? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Steph gasped, curling her hands into fists so he couldn't see the damage her nails had done. Jason hesitated in the doorway, but finally gave in to reason, stepping inside and closing the door behind him.

"You're not fine," he said, and he said it so gently, with as much kindness as he could muster. "What was it?"

"I'm not talking about this," Steph hissed, pulling her quilt up to cover her. Jason caught sight of the claw marks against her neck and shook his head, coming over to sit gingerly on the edge of the bed.

"You don't have to talk about it," he offered, "But it helps."

"There's nothing to talk about," Stephanie said. It was nothing. She was overreacting. Since they'd opened the card from Roman Sionis, she had spent the rest of the day alone, holed up in her room on her laptop, doing her best to ignore the outside world. She had come out when Jason had offered up dinner, a pork belly in black garlic jus he had cooked himself, and retreated back to the room when they were done. Jason didn't press, didn't ask her to talk about it, for the most part he had left her to her devices. It had been early when she had decided to go to bed, only about 9 PM or so, there was a good chance he may have still been up when she had woken screaming. She squinted at the dull lights of the alarm clock on her bedside table and read the time. It was just after one in the morning, so maybe he had been asleep, something his bed-mussed hair would indicate was true. Stephanie groaned and curled in on herself further.

"I'm sorry I woke you," she offered eventually. Jason shook his head, reaching one hand out and taking one of her fists in his gentle, large hands.

"Don't even worry about it," he said, giving her a tired smile. They sat there in silence for a few moments, Jason holding on to Steph's hand, until she relaxed her fist and took his hand in hers in a loose grip. They sat there like that a while longer, neither saying anything, until Stephanie's breathing slowed and her heart stopped pounding in her chest. When she seemed ready, Jason offered her a bottle of water, and she took it gratefully, gulping down sips of water like her life depended on it, keenly aware of the dryness in her mouth.

"You ready to go back to sleep?" Jason asked softly. Steph wiped her mouth on the back of her hand and nodded, screwing the cap back on the bottle and placing it beside the clock on her bedside table. Jason stood to leave, and got as far as two steps from the door, when Steph straightened.

"Jason, wait," she said, and she froze when he turned and fixed her with that blue gaze. He looked so serious, so tired in the bright light from overhead, the shadows under his eyes more prominent. She couldn't even begin to imagine what she looked like to him. 

"Yeah, Steph?" He murmured, stepping back towards the bed. Steph hesitated, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

"Stay with me," she said, and it came out broken and strangled, but she had said it, offering up her vulnerability to him and feeling like she had just handed him a knife to plunge into her back. He could refuse. He could laugh at her, for being so weak. He could roll his eyes and tell her to stop being such a baby.

He did none of those things.

"Of course," he said, and he flicked the overhead light off, and crawled into bed beside her, letting her curl into his arms. She broke down again, sobbing softly into his shirt, and he smoothed the hair back from her tearstained face and pulled her closer. After a moment of hesitation, he pressed a kiss to her forehead, and held her like that, heads touching, safe in his arms, until she had cried herself back to sleep.

When she woke that morning, Steph found herself alone in a huge, otherwise empty bed. She felt around, reaching for Jason, but he wasn't there. After a moment of panic, she sat up, her sleep-addled mind clearing, and she shook her head at how ridiculous she was being. She ran her hands over the sheets, smoothing them down, and rolled over to check the time. She had slept in, but it was a Sunday, so that didn't matter so much. She had class tomorrow, though. She would have to be up early then. 

"Jason?" she called out, in case he was in the bathroom, but there was no sound coming from inside. She sighed and kicked off the covers, rolling out of bed and strolling down the hallways to the kitchen, where she could hear the sound of movement, the clattering of kitchen utensils, and the sound of the sink. She stepped inside and leaned up against the wall by the fridge, watching Jason work in the soft morning light. He had a waffle iron going, a bowl of batter sitting nearby, and punnets of fresh berries all around. He was swirling whipped cream onto a plate of waffles, adding a sprinkle of blueberries and raspberries, laying thinly sliced strawberry out of the plate. Stephanie cleared her throat and he turned, looking at her with a gentle gaze. There was a streak of batter above his left eyebrow, and his hands were stained dark with the juice from the berries.

"Good morning," he said, presenting the plate to her. "For you."

"You made me waffles?" Steph asked, accepting it gratefully, grabbing the cutlery he offered her. 

"I thought you could use some comfort food after last night, and I know they're your favourite," Jason replied, turning back to the waffle iron to start making himself breakfast. Steph took a seat at the dining table, grateful to see that all traces of the presents were gone. She didn't know where Jason had put any of them, but it was something she could worry about later. She speared her fork into a waffle and sliced off a piece, shoving it into her mouth. Her eyes widened. "Damn," she said, but her mouth was full, so what she said was near-unintelligible, "These are really good."

"You're welcome," Jason said with a grin, sitting across from her with a plate of his own. He'd brought syrup with him, and Steph grabbed it, drowning her waffles in the sticky substance before handing it back. Jason laughed and shook his head, squirting some over his own plate, before sitting it back on the table between them. Steph leaned over and, with the edge of her sleeve, wiped the waffle batter from above Jason’s left eyebrow. He touched it, lightly, and squirmed away, but she’d gotten it off. She wiped her sleeve on the leg of her pants, leaving a smear of batter on them, but she didn’t care.

They ate together mostly in silence, except when Steph stood to grab herself a drink and Jason asked if she could make him one, too. She returned with two coffees, one full of sugar and cream, one black. She slid the black coffee over to Jason, who accepted it with a grateful sip. 

"Are you doing anything today?" Steph asked, making conversation.

"No," Jason said. "But you are."

"I'm...sorry?" Steph said, furrowing her brow. "What am I doing today?"

"You're coming with me up to the roof," Jason said, and he left it at that, taking another long sip from his coffee.

"Going up to the roof to do what exactly?" Steph asked. Jason shrugged, holding his coffee with both hands so the mug could warm them. "So you're not going to tell me."

"Nope," Jason said sagely. "Eat your breakfast."

Stephanie took another bite of her waffles and regarded Jason with some suspicion. He was up to something, she just didn't know what.

When the plates were cleared away and put in the dishwasher, Jason threw Steph her cardigan from the back of the kitchen chair, where she'd left it the night before. She pulled it on, tucking her hands into the knitted grey pockets, and watched as Jason pulled on his leather jacket. He grabbed a pack of smokes from the kitchen counter and tucked them away, too, before he opened up the door and held it out to her. She walked out, and stood there, waiting for him to finish locking up and lead her to wherever they were going. The roof, obviously. But where?

She followed him down to a little-used staircase at the end of the hall, where he took the stairs two at a time up to the roof. She stepped out onto it and looked around, surprised. The space was completely bare, just concrete and more concrete, but it had potential. They could do something with this, maybe make it a stop-off point for Gotham's vigilantes to stop, grab a snack, grab some water before they carried on. There were a few buildings in Gotham that had done that to their rooftops, and Steph was grateful for each and every one, because it made going out as Batgirl just that little bit easier, knowing there were people out there who supported them in all that they did.

Still, though. She knew that wasn't why they were up here.

"Right," Jason said, lighting up a cigarette, taking a drag before holding it away from his face, one arm tucked under the other. "You're going to break something."

"What?" Steph asked, and Jason gestured with his cigarette, to something Steph hadn't noticed before. In the middle of the roof was a small pillar, and sitting on that pillar was a crystal bowl, in fact, the crystal bowl that had been gifted unto them by Roman Sionis. Stephanie's stomach lurched and she tried to turn around and walk away, but Jason was blocking off the exit.

"Go on," he said, gesturing to it. "Break it."

"I'm not breaking it," Steph said. "It's worth more than my car."

"You're breaking it," Jason said. He reached down behind him and packed up a baseball bat, holding it out to her. "Go on."

"I'm not breaking it!" Stephanie said.

"Steph." Jason took another drag off his cigarette, flicking the ash off the roof. It got caught in the breeze and blew away in the wind. "Do you hate Roman Sionis?"

"Yes," Steph said.

"Do you hate that he got us a wedding present, and gets to flash his cash around with no consequences after what he did to you?"

"I was sixteen, Jason." Steph shifted uncomfortably, staring at the ground. "It was a lifetime ago. It doesn't matter. I got over it."

"You got over it?" Jason asked incredulously. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, I'm not even - actually, it's going to bug me if I don't. Stephanie, you are not over it."

"I am," Steph claimed vehemently. She looked down at the baseball bat Jason was still holding out to her. "This seems like overkill."

"Think about how satisfying it would be to break something," Jason said. "I think you need this."

"Fine," Steph snatched the baseball bat off him. "One hit, but that's it, okay?"

"Sure," Jason grinned and stood back. Steph walked over to the pillar, where the crystal bowl was sitting, glimmering in the sunlight. Steph shifted the baseball bat from hand to hand, staring down at the bowl. Without warning, she raised it above her head, holding it in both hands, and brought it down with an almighty crash.

The bowl shattered into hundreds of pierces, glass breaking and flying all around her. Each shard glimmered and shone in a different way, and Steph brought the bat down again, smashing it over and over and over until she had pulverised the damn thing. She took a step back, breathing heavily, and stared at the destruction she had wrought, the wreckage of the crystal bowl that was more expensive than eighty percent of the things in her apartment. It was gone, utterly destroyed, with no hope of piecing it back together.

Jason let out a whoop behind her, applauding. Steph turned to face him, gripping the baseball bat loosely in one hand, an uncertain smile breaking out onto her face.

"That felt good, right?" he asked, grinning at her. Steph shrugged and tilted her head, her smile widening. 

"Yeah," she said. "That felt good." 

"Alright, now for the boring part." Jason stubbed out his cigarette, tucking the butt back into the packet. He was a considerate smoker, at least. He didn't litter. "You get to sweep it all up."

"Uh uh," Steph shook her head, laughing, "That wasn't part of the deal."

"Alright, alright," Jason held his hands up in mock defeat, "I'll sweep it up. But you have to run down to the store and get me a packet of smokes."

"Fine by me," Steph said. Jason pulled the keys out of his pocket and tossed them to her, and she caught them easily, one handed. Jason grinned and grabbed a broom from nearby, resting against the side of the retaining wall. He started sweeping up the shattered glass, leaving Steph to it. She headed back down the stairs and got on the elevator, adrenaline thrumming in her veins. It was nothing like the adrenaline she felt after a fight, or after she'd done a particularly wilful leap off a rooftop. It sang in her veins like it knew she needed it. She grinned to herself, walking out to the Audi, where it was parked on the street still, and climbing inside. It was a short drive to the nearest store that sold cigarettes, and she parked, staring inside. She walked in and realised she didn't know what Jason smoked. The packet was red, she knew that much.

"Hi, sorry," she said to the worker on the counter. "I need a packet of cigarettes. The box is red."

"I'm going to need a bit more than that," the cashier laughed. "And I'm gonna need to check your ID."

"They're for my..." Steph hesitated. "My husband."

"You don't know what your husband smokes?"

"No, unfortunately, I do not," Steph said, then inspiration struck. She pulled out her phone and scrolled through the photos from their road trip until she found one of Jason at the World's Largest Ball of Twine, smoking, the packet in his hands. "This," Steph said, holding up the photo. The cashier laughed again and nodded.

"Yeah, I know what those are," she said, reaching for them. “But I’m still gonna need to see your ID.”

Steph produced her driver’s licence and the cashier squinted at it before nodding and handing it back, along with the packet of cigarettes. Steph was about to pay for them when she spotted packets of nicotine gum on the counter, so she grabbed one of those and threw it down, too, adding it to her total. The cashier gave her a smirk and wished her luck, and Steph smiled back, taking the cigarettes and gum and shoving them into her back pocket.

It was a short drive back to the apartment, where she found Jason inside, apparently having completed his task on the roof. He was unwrapping a rag from around his hand, and it was stained red. She immediately rushed over and took his hand in both of hers, pulling it towards her and inspecting the cut across two of his fingers. It wasn’t deep, but it had lifted the skin, slightly. He’d need a bandaid, at the very least.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, wrapping the rag back around the index and middle finger of his right hand, pressing down on it to apply some pressure as Leslie had taught them all, early on in their crime fighting careers. “I missed a piece of glass and grabbed it without thinking of the broken edge. It’s fine.”

“Are you sure?” Stephanie asked, guilt-stricken, because she had been the one to smash the bowl. Jason gave her a lazy grin and leaned up against the kitchen counter, one elbow against the sink, and nodded.

“Don’t worry about it,” he repeated. “I’ll just keep this on it until it stops bleeding and in a couple days it’ll be good as new.”

Stephanie tutted and reached under the kitchen sink for the first aid kit she’d spied in there in their moving in snoop. If it could really be called snooping, because, well, it was their apartment. She pulled out two bandaids and waited until he held his hand out to her, tearing open the strips and pulling the bandaids free, lining them up with the cuts on each finger and wrapping them around neatly, giving him enough room to comfortably move his fingers but still ensuring it was tight enough to protect the wounds. Jason looked down at it, at his hands in hers, and touched the palm of her hand gently.

“Did you get my smokes?” He asked in a hushed tone.

“Yeah,” Steph cleared her throat and pulled away, reaching into her pocket to pull out the cigarettes and the gum. She handed him both, and he shoved the smokes in his pocket, holding the gum in one hand and investigating it, turning it over in his hands.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“Nicotine gum,” Steph said. “I know you probably don’t want to quit, but just...you don’t even have to use the gum, if you don’t want to. You don’t have to quit. But it would mean a lot to me if you would try.”

“Okay,” Jason said, tucking it away. “I won’t make you any promises. But I can try.”

“That’s all I ask,” Steph said, turning away from him, suddenly aware of how close they’d been standing. Jason took a half-step back, pink colouring his cheeks, and the two of them went their separate ways for a few moments, Steph putting the first aid kit away, Jason wandering outside to have a cigarette. Neither of them said anything when he came back inside, they just shared a look and Steph went back to what she'd been doing, which was unpacking one of her boxes into the apartment. The ring on her finger felt like a weight, suddenly, and she wanted to pull it off, but when she stopped to stare down at it, twinkling on her finger as it caught the remains of the afternoon sun, she let it be, taking a deep, steady breath and reaching inside the box. Unbeknownst to her, Jason was standing halfway across the apartment, twisting his wedding band around his finger, deep in thought. Both of them were starting to think some thoughts - thoughts neither of them could admit out loud, not to each other, but not even to themselves. Steph found herself wishing for Cassandra, because Cass always knew what to do in these situations, always offering up sage wisdom and advice. Jason, for the first time in a very long time, found himself wanting to call Dick - definitely not to talk to him about anything he was thinking, but instead to talk about anything else, anything at all. If there was one thing Dick was good for, it was inane chit-chat, the kind that could take your mind off of anything. 

Jason watched Steph from his vantage point in the kitchen. She was standing at the dining table, pulling sweaters out of a box, little trinkets nestled inside between them like a layered cake, and watched as she pulled out an antique jewellery box, a journal, and a small collection of photographs she tucked away inside the cover of the journal. He didn't catch a glimpse of what was on them, but they must have been precious to her, because she clutched the journal to her chest for a moment before setting it aside. Next came out another couple of sweaters, and then from beneath that a porcelain figurine of a bird, brown in colouring with a little glazed red chest, a robin. Steph set that aside, too, and reached in for the last couple of items, including an old pocketwatch that had to have been passed down to her by someone, perhaps a grandparent. She gathered the items in her arms and made her way down to the bedroom, disappearing from his sight, but Jason didn't say anything as she walked by, lost in thought. He walked over and gathered the sweaters in his arms, following her down to the bedroom, where she was tucking the diary into the top drawer of her nightstand, and he cleared his throat, looking at her expectantly.

"You didn't have to bring those down," Steph said, taking the armful of sweaters from him. "I could have gone back for them myself."

"Just trying to be helpful," Jason said, leaning up against the doorframe and watching as Stephanie opened a drawer in the dresser and placed the sweaters inside, lining them up so she could clearly see each one when the drawer was opened. She'd put the little robin figurine on top of the dresser, where it sat cheerfully, a plump little porcelain bird that gave Jason the strangest sense of home when he saw it. Beside it was the jewellery box, which Steph had opened up after sitting it down on the dresser, and Jason could see inside she had a few pairs of earrings and a locket. He wondered what the story there was, but didn't ask.

Maybe there was some worth in keeping things around like that, he thought. He'd never done it, not since he'd last lived at the mansion, but sometimes he thought maybe this whole packing light thing could be improved upon. It was something worth his consideration, anyway. He left Stephanie to it, sorting her things out in their - her - room, and made his way back to the lounge room, where he sat on the couch and sighed to himself. He thought of all their wedding gifts, and what he'd done with them - the knives from Talia had made their way into their respective vigilante arsenals, because they both kept a small collection of their Bat-related activities in the apartment, and had since moving in. Jason had noticed the moment Stephanie had pulled out the bag with her Batgirl costume in it, so the knives had gone in there, tucked away for future use. Jason's own set had gone into his duffle, to add into one of his safehouses later. The cheeseboard, the wines, the tea set had all ended up in the kitchen, packed away for later use, the wines sitting in a wine rack he had found in one of the many cupboards. He didn't know why their apartment needed a wine rack, but Bruce kept places with plenty of weird things like that, and he'd stopped asking over the years why any one property of Bruce's had whatever features it had. The vase from Kate was sitting on the hall table by Stephanie's pot plant, just waiting for flowers to be put in it. That, Jason thought, wouldn't be a bad idea. They'd brighten the place up a little. The rings, of course, sat on their respective fingers - the plain wedding band on his, the diamond on hers. Stephanie's slender hands were even more beautiful with the ring adorning them, he'd noticed. It seemed to make them somehow softer. Jason was broken out of his reverie by the sound of a phone ringing. He patted his pockets, pulling out his new phone, but the screen was black, no missed calls. The sound continued, and he realised it must have been Steph's phone. He got up, searching around for it, and found it on the dining table, by the stack of boxes that had somehow ended up on there. He grabbed it and walked it down the hall to Stephanie, but by the time he'd gotten there it had stopped ringing.

"Steph?" He sang out, peering around the doorway, looking for her in the bedroom. "Your phone was ringing."

"Damn it," Steph said, getting up from her position on the floor, where she'd been stacking pants into the bottom drawer of the dresser. She brushed the hair off her face and came over, taking the phone from him. The screen lit up and she typed her passcode so quickly he couldn't have hoped to see it, and she scrolled through it until she found what she was looking for. "It was Babs," she said, a frown crossing her face. "I wonder what-"

She didn't get to finish that thought, because the phone lit up again with a sharp trill. Steph immediately swiped to answer it and held it up to her ear.

"Babs, hey." She paused, and then said, "Let me just put you on speaker, Jason's here too."

"Hey, Babs," Jason said when Steph held the phone out to him. There was a crackle from the speaker, and then Barbara's voice coming through it, clear as day.

"Hello, my favourite two vigilantes."

"Hey!" They heard Dick's voice in the background, and Jason and Stephanie shared a look, stifling their laughter.

"Sorry," Babs said. "Hey, my second and third favourite vigilantes."

"That's better," Dick said.

"What's up, Barbara?" Jason asked.

"You know that Romano family case?" Babs said, clacking away at a keyboard on her end. "Something has come up, some intel. Some good intel. I need you both suited up and ready to go by seven."

"Suited up as in-"

"I need Batgirl and Red Hood," Babs replied. "There's been a break in the case. It's time to crack some heads and save some kids."

Jason and Stephanie glanced at each other, and Steph said, "Alright, Babs. Can do. We'll be suited up and ready to go. Just send us the location and we'll be there."

"Will do," Barbara replied. "I'm bringing Black Bat in on this one, as well. You're going to need the back up."

Steph ended the call and stared up at Jason, bewildered. If they needed back up, it was something serious, something Babs wasn't telling them. She said they'd get to kick a few asses tonight, but what did that mean? Steph was already itching to go, itching to find out. Jason was taking a more pragmatic approach, but Steph could see the glint in his eye. His blood sang for danger, just as hers did, and it looked like tonight, they were going to get some.


	10. Chapter 10

The way the kevlar rippled across her muscles was comforting to Stephanie. It made her feel protected, and that was what her Bat-suit was meant to do - protect her. She stretched her legs out, her boots dangling off the edge of the rooftop, and looked up as Cass sat down beside her. After a few moments, Jason joined her on her other side, dropping onto the concrete like a dead weight, shuffling closer to her because, though he wouldn't admit it, he was trying to huddle up for warmth. She knew that the leather jacket couldn't be warm enough for the rapidly dropping temperatures.

They were sitting on a rooftop, the three of them, the roof of a warehouse in the shipping district. Steph could see the docks nearby, and the water from the bay lapping up to the shore, the mess of trucks and warehouses and shipping containers all down by the docks. Steph knew this district like the back of her hand, and Cass did too, but Jason didn't work down here much any more. He hadn't as Robin, and she didn't think he'd done much while as Red Hood, not for a couple of years anyway.

God, she thought, glancing sideways at him, had it really been that long? 

Jason had pulled his helmet off, and it sat beside him on the concrete, dull red in the dim light. His domino mask was coming unstuck under his left eye, so without thinking Steph reached up and smoothed it down. He startled, a little, and then relaxed when he realised what she was doing, leaning in to the gentle touch of her gloved fingers.

"Thanks," he said, smiling down at her. She smiled back, reaching up to tug on her cowl, making sure it was still sitting squarely on her face.

"Don't worry about it," she said.

Cass cleared her throat behind them, and Steph jumped, turning to look at her. The other woman gave her a smirk, and Steph rolled her eyes, leaning back on the rooftop to rest her hands by her side.

"Hopefully we won't be waiting much longer," Cassandra said as headlights swept over them. They shrunk back from the light, all three of them, and watched as a truck pulled in in front of the warehouse. It had two shipping containers on the back, rust-coloured and locked up tight, and Stephanie felt a growing pit in her stomach, an anger that she tried to keep pushed down because working while angry might have been Jason's gig, but it wasn't hers. Plenty of things in their line of work made her angry, but there wasn't time to act on it on the job. She was there on a mission, and she had to get it done.

"I'm going to check out the driver," Jason said, slipping away into the night as the truck's engine died and someone stepped out of the cab. Jason made his way down the side of the building and disappeared, leaving Stephanie and Cassandra sitting alone on the roof.

"How have things been?" Steph asked, breaking the silence to look across at Cass. Cass gave her a lazy, Cheshire cat's grin, and nudged her in the side.

"Things are good," she said, still smiling. "How is everything with Red Hood?"

"Everything with him is fine," Steph replied, sensing where this was going. Cass was a furtive person, but she was about as subtle as a brick to the face when it came to some things. Stephanie's love life was one of them. 

"You are a good match," Cass said. "I can see why you married him."

"Cass, we're not - this is a fake marriage, okay?"

"Mmhm," Cass smirked, swinging her legs back and forth.

"Stephanie," a voice crackled in Steph's ear. "No names in the field."

"Sorry, Oracle," Steph replied, side-eyeing Cass, who was biting back a grin. Her teeth worried a little corner of her lip, and Steph could tell she was trying hard not to laugh, because it was a reminder they seemed to get off Barbara a lot, especially when they'd been Batgirl and Spoiler. 

"So," Steph asked, her knee touching's Cassandra's, "How did T-" she paused, thinking of Barbara's warning, "How did Red Robin react when he heard about everything? Is he okay? I still haven't heard from him."

"Red Robin is fine," Cass said in the cool and composed tone she had perfected. "He laughed very hard when he found out about the marriage."

"People keep telling me that," Steph said, thinking back to Dick's earlier words. "Did he really laugh?"

"Oh, yes," Cass grinned. "Hysterically." 

Stephanie didn't know if she should be grateful or offended. She decided on grateful, because if Tim was really okay with it, it made everything a lot easier. Still didn't explain why she hadn't heard from him, but maybe he was just busy with Titans stuff. That seemed to be a much more reasonable explanation than anything her anxiety-addled brain had come up with, which included, but was not limited to, Tim hating her. 

"Robin said the two of you deserve each other," Cass said cheerfully. Stephanie stifled a laugh, because she could just see it, Dami's furious little face. Steph leaned in against Cass and rested her head on the other woman's shoulder, smiling. They didn't often get time like this any more, it felt like. It had been so long since they had just sat and talked like this.

There was a bang from down below, the sound of raised voices, and two gunshots being fired. Two flashes of light broke the darkness, and Steph swore under her breath, getting to her feet and pulling Cass up with one hand. The two women looked at each other, concerned, as another gunshot rang out.

"Looks like Hood needs a hand," Steph said, firing her grappling hook over to the next building and leaping off the rooftop, swinging down through the air in an elegant arc before she landed on the ground, squaring her boots up. When she looked back up to the roof, Cass had vanished, but she didn't have to wait long for her to appear behind her, announcing her presence by saying, "Are you ready, Batgirl?"

"I was born ready," Steph replied, and they leapt into action, running down to the truck to find Jason facing off with two henchmen, a gun in each of his hands. A pair of henchmen lay nearby, nursing gunshot wounds, apparently having decided to stay down, but the two still standing had their weapons drawn on Jason. Steph sprang into action, grabbing the man on the leg and twisting his arm until it almost popped out of the socket, wrenching it back so he dropped his gun and left Jason alone. Cass took out the other with a well-placed kick to the back of the knees, but he still managed to fire off a shot before going down. The bullet ricocheted off of a nearby lamp post and hit the truck's cab, sending a hiss off steam into the air. Jason holstered his weapon and walked over to help Steph subdue the idiot she had in a headlock, pulling a pack of zip ties out of his pocket. They zip-tied the two goons Steph and Cass had taken down, looping the ties so they were stuck together, back-to-back, while both men moaned and grumbled.

"Watch the arm, you bitch," one said to Steph. Jason clocked him in the mouth.

"Hood!" Steph said. Jason looked at her, but she couldn't read his expression under the helmet, but he offered an explanation.

"Sorry," he said, not sounding sorry at all. "Thought he was getting a bit mouthy."

"Hood, you know better," Steph said, wrenching the zip tie tighter. The goon's head lolled on his chest, apparently knocked out by Jason's well-placed punch. "You shouldn't hit a man while he's down."

"He shouldn't call you a bitch," Jason said, pulling his helmet off. The goons had fallen silent, apparently deciding they did not want to meet the same fate as their mouthy fellow.

"Alright," Steph put her hands on her hips, looking at the remaining three. They all stared up at her with some measure of fear and respect. "What's in the container, boys?"

"Nothing," one said, and he winced when the other elbowed him in the side.

"Shut up, man," he told him. He looked up at Batgirl and Red Hood. "We don't know nothing."

"Yeah," offered the third, one hand over the wound in his leg where Jason had hit him with a bullet. "We don't, honest. We just bring the cargo. The others are meant to meet us here in fifteen minutes."

"Shut up, Ricky," the first guy said. Ricky looked affronted, but shut his mouth. Jason and Stephanie shared a look.

"Black Bat, stay here with these idiots," Steph said, walking down the length of the truck. "I'm going to crack open one of these containers."

Cass nodded, folding her arms across her chest and looming over the henchmen with darkness in her eyes. One of them gulped audibly, but Steph wasn't around to hear that, because she was at the rear of the truck's trailer, using her lockpick on the padlock that held shut one of the shipping containers. Jason had trailed after her, and was standing back, watching as she made short work of the lock.

"Help me shift this open," Steph said, and he came over, helping her pull up bolts and unhook chains. The door to the shipping container swung open with a long creak, and Steph and Jason peered inside.

"Oh, God," Steph mumbled, reaching out to grasp Jason's arm. He was silent, but she could feel him shaking with rage. Inside was a collection of children, some as young as two, others older, early teens even, gathered inside against the far wall. They were filthy, clustered together like baby birds in a nest, staring at Batgirl and Red Hood with wide, fear-filled eyes.

"It's okay," Steph called out, stepping onto the container. "We aren't going to hurt you."

They shrunk back into the far wall, eyes so wide they looked mostly white, gripping onto each other with the fierce determination of children, of soldiers who had been through hell together. Steph used Jason's arm to help her into the container, wandering down the length of it until she was just three feet away from the small crowd of children. She knelt in front of them, boots stiff against the metal flooring, and pushed her hair off her face, wishing she could pull off the cowl and show them she didn't mean any harm.

"I won't hurt you," she repeated, and a couple of the older kids shared looks amongst themselves, terrified looks that told her they didn't believe her, not one bit. Steph's heart ached.

"I'm Batgirl," Steph said, addressing the oldest one, the one in the middle of the cluster, the one the younger ones all seemed to be hanging off. "What's your name?"

"Nadia," the girl said, pulling the little ones closer. "I'm Nadia."

Steph felt a wave of relief wash over her, and she smiled at Nadia, rocking back onto her heels so she could take a seat on the floor, show the kids she didn't mean any harm. She was making herself as small and as non-threatening as possible, in hopes more of them would speak to her, or at least stop staring at her like she was going to hurt them. They had to be petrified, the way the little ones were staring at her, lips quivering, hands shaking. Steph sat cross-legged on the base of the shipping container and smiled as Nadia slowly - slowly, incredibly slowly - sank to her knees and sat across from her. The little ones, who were mostly already sitting, shrank back again, and Steph stilled, knowing she was going to have to take this slow.

"Why are you here?" Nadia asked.

"I'm here to rescue you," Steph replied. "You know who Batman is, right?"

There were a few nods, mostly from the older children, but some of the little ones looked around, wide-eyed, at the mere mention of the name.

"I know who Batman is," Nadia said. "You work with Batman."

"Yes," Steph said, clasping her hands in front of her. "I work with Batman, and so does the person who helped me find you. He's just-" Steph looked back, searching for Jason, half expecting that he had followed her into the shipping container, but he was nowhere to be found. Instead, Cassandra was stepping inside, her mask slightly askew, dark hair damp with sweat. Behind her, illuminating her, was a flash of red and blue, and Steph knew that her role here was almost over.

"Batgirl," Cass called out. "Red Hood called for police."

"You hear that?" Steph said, as sirens wailed in the distance, more police and hopefully ambulances to come, "That means you'll all be getting out of here, getting back to your families."

"Not all of us have families," Nadia said. "And we are not the only children. There are more, back at the warehouse."

Steph straightened, looking Nadia dead in the eye. "Can you tell me where that is?" 

Nadia looked around, at the children around her. "First you must promise everyone here will be safe."

"I promise," Steph said. "I'll make sure everybody finds their family, or somewhere safe to go."

Nadia nodded, just as flashlight beams swooped in and cast a light over the children's filthy, tearstained faces. She stiffened, and Steph got to her feet, turning back to look at the two detectives who were peering inside. 

"We just need a minute," Steph called out, and the taller detective shook his head, gesturing for her to get a move on. Steph looked back to Nadia, who nodded at her, and the two of them started ushering the children towards the entrance. Some hung back, nervous, but Steph guided them with a gentle hand, and Cass reached forward to take the youngest ones off of her hands. Once they were all outside, in a crowd, the paramedics took over, taking children, whisking them away to ambulances that stood nearby, while police started talking to them, trying to parse out who they were, where they came from. Nadia hung back, turning to Steph.

"On Macquarie Street," she said, looking up at Steph with serious, dark eyes. "That's where the other warehouse is. There are children inside, like us. I don't know what they're doing to them, when they're moving them. But I know it's soon. I hope they're still there."

"Thank you, Nadia," Steph said, taking the girl's hands and giving them a gentle squeeze. Nadia melted away into the crowd, following one of the paramedics, and Steph readied her grappling hook, where she could see Cassandra waiting for her on a nearby rooftop.

"Oracle, did you catch what the girl said?"" She said, and there was a fizz of static in her ear because Barbara's voice came through, clear and true.

"I heard. Red Robin and Nightwing are on their way to intercept now." 

Steph landed on the rooftop with as much grace as she could muster, rolling across it and landing on her knees. Cass reached over and helped her up and the two of them stood there, watching the children be examined by paramedics, silent protectors of Gotham. Steph bit her lip, watching as the goons were roughly shoved into the back of a squad car, while paramedics treated the two Jason shot before they had cuffs slapped on them, too. At the thought, Steph turned to Cass, who looked back at her with grave eyes.

"Where did Jason go?" Steph asked. Cass shook her head.

"He called the police...and then he left." Cass shrugged, tugging her gloves down for a moment, so Steph could see the bare skin of her wrists as she adjusted them. Steph wondered why Jason had vanished, but shook her head, resolving to ask him later.

"What do you think will happen to them?" she asked, looking over the children below. Cass placed a gentle touch on her shoulder.

"Batman will take care of them," she said, giving Steph's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "You know he will."

"Yeah," Steph said, suddenly, bone-achingly tired. They'd been up on that rooftop waiting for action for what had to have been hours, and now the action was over she was aware of how late it had gotten. She wanted to head home, get out of her costume and into some pyjamas. See what was going on with Jason. Maybe talk to him more about those kids...see if there was anything they could do, or if Bruce was taking care of it all.

"I'm heading home, Oracle," Steph said.

"Roger that," Barbara's voice sounded in her ear. "Stay safe, Batgirl. You too, Black Bat."

Steph gave Cass a tired smile and started the three mile long journey back to base, where she could shower and change out of her uniform without having to sneak into the apartment without being seen. When she got there, she was quick to strip out of the kevlar, setting it aside for the next night. She took off her boots and pulled on fresh clothes, deciding the shower could wait until she was home. She was quiet as she climbed into her car, still haunted by the vision she and Jason had seen when they'd pulled open that shipping container, all those scared children inside. She felt at a loss, at a loss for words, at a loss for what to do. She thought of Nadia, a girl young enough to be someone's daughter, shouldering the responsibility, the burden of all those kids...she sighed to herself, driving across town quietly, deep in thought. She wanted Jason to be here, somebody she could talk about this with, but he'd up and left without so much as a goodbye.

She parked her car underneath their building, in the basement level parking garage that sat underneath it. She and Jason had two spots, one each, but usually the Audi was parked out on the street and Jason’s motorcycle stayed down here. Probably not the wisest decision, because the Audi was the most expensive of the three vehicles, and thus the one most likely to get stolen and torched - this was Gotham, after all - but that was the arrangement they’d come up with for now. Steph parked her little Corolla underneath and sat for a moment, her head resting against the steering wheel. She kept thinking of those children, of their eyes. The fear in them. She kept thinking of times in her life when that fear had been in her own eyes.

She got onto the elevator and began the quiet journey back up to the apartment. The door was unlocked, so she tucked her keys away and stepped inside to find Jason sitting on the couch, stripped of his body armour and his helmet, domino mask long gone. There was still a touch of adhesive under his eye, but he wiped it away, brushing the sticky substance off onto his black tracksuit pants.

“You left,” was all Steph managed.

“You had it under control,” Jason said, taking a sip of his water. “I got a call out about some mobsters in the East End. Went to go take care of it.”

“You could have told me.” Steph walked inside, depositing her keys on the hallway table, kicking off her sneakers by the door. She padded barefoot through the apartment, throwing her bag down by the couch, stalking her way down to the bathroom and into the shower. Inside, she let the hot water wash away all the hurt and frustration she felt at being unable to help those kids in any tangible way, and when she got out she felt....not better. But something like that.

When she walked back into the lounge area, she found Jason still sitting there, pensive and apparently deep in thought. His hands were shaking, but only just, a tremble to them that anybody else would have put down to lack of sleep, or perhaps stress. Steph knew better.

“I’m heading to bed,” she told him, using the same gentle voice she’d used on the children. He looked at her, like he knew what she was doing, and looked away.

“Sleep well, Steph,” he said. He was fiddling with the wedding band on his left hand. Perhaps she should invest in a spinner ring for him, she thought, watching as he spun the band around and around with his shaking hands.

“I can’t stop thinking about those kids,” Steph blurted out, and he looked up at her, brow furrowed. There was silence in the room for a few moments, silence so thick you could cut it with a knife.

“Yeah,” he said eventually. “Me either.”

“Do you think they’ll be okay?” Steph asked.

“Bruce will take care of them,” Jason said, and Steph wasn’t sure, but she thought she could hear a hint of bitterness in his voice. “He always does.”

“Jason,” Steph said, her voice soft. She took a few steps towards him and sat gingerly on the edge of the couch, where he turned his attention on her, serious and foreboding. “Come on, let’s go to bed.”

“I’m right,” Jason said, settling into the couch. “I’ll sleep when I’m ready.”

“Jason,” Steph pleaded, trying, hoping that he’d understand. “I don’t...want to be alone. Come to bed with me, please.”

Jason, surprised, looked up at her, but after a moment he nodded, and he followed her down to the bedroom. They each took a side of the bed, the sides they’d taken the night before, and Steph settled in beside him, barely touching, just beside each other, just able to feel the comfortable weight of another presence beside them. Steph curled into a ball, praying that tonight the nightmares wouldn’t take her again, but worried that they might come for Jason instead. Still, she thought, as he rolled over so they were eye-to-eye, staring into his blue gaze, if they did, if they did for either of them, they’d be here. She would be here for him, and she knew he would be there for her.

“Good night,” she whispered. Jason shifted, turning off the lamp behind him.

“Good night,” he whispered into the darkness.


	11. Chapter 11

They fell into any easy routine, the two of them. Steph would go to her classes. Most afternoons, Jason would swing by, and pick her up, earning more than a few stares from the students of Gotham U. They would come home, and share a meal together - sometimes Jason cooked, sometimes Stephanie, sometimes they ordered takeout. Then Steph would go out on patrol as Batgirl, and Jason would spend his evenings being Red Hood, and they would both come home at the early hours of the morning to collapse into bed together, side by side, and sleep until it was time to get up and do it all again. Steph's nightmares stopped after a few days, but she didn't ask Jason to leave, having grown used to his presence in her bed. Likewise, he didn't ask if she wanted him to leave, because he found sleeping in a bed with Stephanie preferable to sleeping on the couch alone. The two of them got so used to this routine, to spending every day together, they were thrown off when things came up that changed it - like when Stephanie was invited out by her friends, and spent her evening at another house, leaving Jason alone in the apartment. He slept on the couch that night. It felt wrong to sleep in Stephanie's bed without her in it. 

She came home the next morning with her hair in a ponytail and tired eyes. Jason looked up as she walked inside, chucking her keys down on the table, and set his book aside, leaning in to give her his attention.

"Rough night?" he asked, and she shook her head, heading to the kitchen to grab a water.

"Just didn't sleep all that great," Steph said, lost in thought. "Not sure why."

"Me either," Jason replied, cracking his stiff neck. He had found the couch comfortable the first couple of nights, but now it was too soft, and he found nothing about it comforting when he woke up from bad dreams of his own. At least when he woke up and Stephanie was there, he just had to reach across the bed to feel another presence, to know that he was not going through this alone. It was something he'd grown used to in the short time they'd been cohabitating.

"Got a weird text off Cass," Steph said, sipping her water. "She asked if I was coming to the party tonight?"

"The party?" Jason echoed, feeling the blood drain from his face. Shit. The party. The annual Wayne Halloween Gala, held in the city to raise funds for the children's hospital. Costumes were required. Non-attendance was strongly frowned upon.

"You don't know what that's about, do you?" Steph asked. Jason looked askance, not meeting her eyes.

"We - may have gotten an invite," Jason said slowly, "To the Wayne Halloween Gala."

"And why did you wait until right this minute to tell me?" Steph asked.

"I didn't think you'd want to go! I don't want to go," Jason confessed. Steph rolled her eyes.

"Well I do want to go," Steph said, crossing her arms over her chest. Her ring glinted in the late afternoon sun. "Everybody would be expecting us to go, right?"

"Yes," Jason admitted, shrugging. 

"Then we're going," Steph said, knocking the fridge shut with a hip thrust. "Do we need costumes?"

"Yes," Jason said, a faint feeling of horror dawning on his face.

"Leave me in charge," Steph replied, and he didn't like the look in her eye. It told him there were shenanigans afoot.

Steph vanished after that conversation, to where he did not know, but not long after his phone buzzed and he checked it to find, to his surprise, a text from Stephanie of her and Cass wearing matching masks - the cheap kind that could be gotten from the Halloween store. It was followed, not long after, by a text that simply read, _there are no costumes left in Gotham_ , and Jason blanched, because he got the feeling he would not be hearing the end of it if Steph couldn't procure them costumes in time. Steph returned two hours later with an absolutely enormous shopping bag and a glint in her eye that told him he was in trouble. He trailed after her as she threw the bag down onto the couch and started pulling things out of it.

"Is that a...Sailor Moon costume?" he asked, as she pulled out a set of blonde hair extensions and threw them down onto the coffee table.

"Yes," she said simply, digging through the bag. "You own a tux, right?"

"I- yeah, I own a tux. Why are you- oh no."

"Oh yes, Jason Todd," Steph said, pulling out what was definitely one of Tim's old Red Robin capes with a flourish. "I'm Sailor Moon. You're Tuxedo Mask."

"There wasn't anything else?" Jason whined, and Steph rolled her eyes at him, passing him one of Cassandra's black masks. "The only costume left in this entire city," Steph said, "That I could tolerate wearing for an evening was Sailor Moon. Cass helped me pull together the last couple of things to make you Tuxedo Mask, and now all we need is you to wear a tux, this cape, and one of her masks, and we're done."

Jason groaned, taking the cape and mask she dumped in his arms and making his way down to the bedroom. His tux was actually one of the few items of clothing that had made its way over to their apartment from his, because he knew that sooner or later they'd be invited to some Wayne Family Mandatory Attendance Event, and he didn't want to be caught out without it. He just never imagined that event would be the Halloween Gala.

"Cheer up!" Steph said, leaning against the doorframe in the sailor scout uniform, which included an obscenely short blue miniskirt that made Jason's brain short out for a second, taking in her long, muscular legs, "At least you'll get to see Bruce all dressed up. I heard this year he's going as a vampire."

"That's a little on the nose, isn't it?" Jason snorted, pulling his tux off its hanger and getting undressed, slowly. Steph watched him from the doorway, a smirk on her face. He wasn't sure when they'd stopped caring about changing in front of one another, but they had. As the words sunk in further, however, realisation dawned on him. "Oh, God. Stephanie. We're going to see the entire family tonight."

"Yep, Cass told me that," Steph grinned. "Are you ready?"

"No, Stephanie, I am not ready!"

"It'll be fine," Steph tried for a reassuring grin, but she had the sinking feeling of remembering that the family being there also meant that Tim would be there. Tim, who hadn't answered one of her texts since Vegas. Tim, who she considered one of her best friends, and, not that she would admit it, it hurt her deeply he wasn't speaking to her. Everyone had said he was fine, but if things were really so fine, he would be talking to her, wouldn't he?

Steph sat at the dressing table and looked in the mirror, playing with her hair. She'd brought in the hair extensions, and she looked over them, holding them up to her hair and trying to blend them in. They were roughly the same shade of blonde, the extensions just a shade lighter, so she set them down and pulled her hair out of the messy ponytail she had it in. Jason finished buttoning his shirt and walked over, standing behind her. She looked at his reflection, meeting his gaze in the mirror, and he offered her an easy smile.

"Let me?" he asked, picking up her hairbrush. She leaned back, throwing her hair off her shoulders, and he ran the brush through it gently, combing out all the tangles and knots that had gathered in it over the course of the day. She closed her eyes, feeling as he brushed gently, never snagging her hair, only guiding the brush through it with the utmost care. Jason started clipping in the extensions, and Steph opened her eyes, surprised to see herself with waist-length blonde hair. He gently parted it and started pulling it up into two buns on either side of her head, letting the extensions flow downwards in two long pigtails. He affixed the hair pierces in, and then picked up the tiara, placing it gently on her forehead. Steph reached up and adjusted it, her fingers brushing his for a moment. She stared at her reflection, marvelling at the brilliant job Jason had done with her hair.

"You look perfect," he said, and she believed him. 

"Let's get you done," Steph said, turning around. She rubbed a bit of pomade into her hands and put it through his hair, running her fingers through the dark strands. The white streak stubbornly fell into his eyes no matter what she did, so she left it, brushing back the rest off his face. He looked down at her, and she was acutely aware of how close they were, just inches away. She felt her cheeks heat up and turned away, reaching for the bowtie he'd discarded on the dressing table before doing her hair. She pulled it around his neck, crossing the ends over and twisting it up into a bow. She pulled it just tight enough to be snug, and looked up at him, their eyes meeting for a moment before she flushed and looked away.

"Thanks," Jason murmured, brushing a strand of hair off her face. "You really do look perfect."

"We should get going," Steph said, turning away.

Jason followed Steph out of the bedroom and down the hall, into the kitchen, where he'd left the cape she'd handed him on the counter. She grabbed it and turned, pulling it around his shoulders and clasping it so the front of it rested just under his bowtie. Next, she handed him Cassandra's mask, affixing it to his face. She grinned at him, and pulled out a phone, holding it out in front of them.

"Smile," she said, and caught a photo of the two of them together, Jason in his mask and cape, her in her sailor scout uniform, grinning at the camera like a pair of idiots. It was important to Steph, to capture these memories. Maybe not for their marriage, but to capture them, in moments of happiness, as fleeting as they were in the vigilante life. She and Jason had something good going here, even if it was all fake. She was going to make sure she never forgot it. The two of them made it down to the car, Steph making sure she had her phone and wallet on her, Jason tucking his into the pocket of his dress pants. Steph had nowhere to put hers, so she held it in her hands awkwardly, wishing that her blue miniskirt had come with pockets. All skirts should have pockets. They were quiet on the driver to Wayne Manor, Steph feeling the tension grow the closer they got. Jason didn't come to these events much, she knew. At most, he'd make a brief appearance and then vanish before the speeches. But she wanted to have fun, damn it. They were part of the society now, the class of Bruce Wayne and Kate Kane. They were going to blend in, be cute in their couples costume, and most of all, not cause a scene. She was sure they could manage that, at the very least. They parked off to the side of the driveway, beside the cars of Gotham's upper class. They got out and looked at each other, squaring their shoulders and walking up the drive to the open doors of the manor. After a moment's hesitation , Steph linked arms with Jason, leaning into his side a little as they made their way up the front steps.

"Master Jason," Alfred greeted them at the door. "Miss Stephanie. It's good to see you."

"Good to see you too," Jason said, clasping the other man's hand and grinning.

"You look rather dashing tonight," Alfred smiled at him. "And you look beautiful, Stephanie."

"Thanks, Alfred," Steph smiled, moving closer to Jason. The two of them made their way inside, where they passed party guests milling about in the gall, until they found their way to the ballroom. There were tables set up inside, with a space cleared at the front with a microphone. Waiters wandered by with trays full of hors d'oeuvres, and Steph looked around in wonder, because she had never seen the ballroom decorated like this for a party. Fake cobwebs hung everywhere, along with cutouts of bats in a pressed metal, dangling from the ceiling. The chandelier twinkled above them, and Steph looked at Jason with a startled grin, not sure what she'd been expecting, but it certainly wasn't this. There were people milling about, in all manner of costumes. Steph spotted Kate talking to two men, dressed to the nines in a Jessica Rabbit costume, her long red hair cascading down her back, shifting as she threw her head back and laughed. 

At the same time, Steph and Jason spotted Bruce, who was standing off to one side in deep discussion with Tim. Jason let go off Steph's arm to snag two champagnes off a passing tray. He threw back one like a shot, staring at Bruce, and then the other, standing there with a champagne glass in each hand. "You want one?" he asked Steph, looking down at her. "I can grab another."

"Jason," Steph hissed, pulling him aside. "You can't just drink yourself blind instead of dealing with your family."

"It's champagne," Jason said defensively. "Besides, look at Bruce's face. He's going to say something and we'll both feel bad, and then things will get tense, and he and I will probably end up in a huge argument before the end of the night. This was a stupid idea, and it's absolutely not worth it."

"He is your father," Steph replied, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Please," she pleaded, glancing over to Bruce, who was watching them now, watching them have their hushed conversation by the crowd of guests. "We'll be fine. We're always fine, Jason. Bad Robins stick together."

"Right," Jason grinned at her, but when his gaze slid over to Bruce, she could see the trepidation in his eyes.

"Jason," Bruce interrupted them, and Steph jumped, just a little having not realised he had walked over while they'd been talking. "Stephanie."

"Hiya, Bruce," Steph said, a little uncomfortable. Bruce offered her a tense smile, and she was taken aback to see startlingly real fangs in his mouth. He was wearing a red cape and a grey dress shirt with dark slacks, his dark hair slicked back from his face, red contacts masking his usually sky blue gaze.

"Hi, Bruce," Jason mumbled, stepping back a half-step so he was almost behind Stephanie. She gave him a gentle nudge to the ribs with her elbow.

"How are you both?" Bruce asked, clasping his hands in front of him like he didn't know what to do with them. Steph found herself wishing for a glass of champagne, if only to put in Bruce's hands so he wasn't standing there so awkwardly. 

"We're good," Steph said. Jason nodded, looking over to the champagne again. Steph gave him another nudge.

"We're good," he echoed, looking back to Bruce.

"I'm very glad to hear that," Bruce said. "Thank you for coming this evening. It means a lot to me."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Steph said, painfully aware of how fake her cheer sounded.

Bruce gave them a curt nod and turned away to where someone Steph didn't recognise was trying to get his attention. As he walked away, Jason looked down at her, and she realised his hands were shaking from anxiety.

"See?" she said, trying to sound soothing, walking them further into the ballroom. "You got through that, and he didn't stay to talk. Now let's get some food, I'm starving."

Jason swiped two crunchy cracker-type things off a passing tray and handed her one. Steph shoved it in her mouth with a satisfying crunch, looking around the ballroom for someone, anyone, that she knew, aside from Jason. Dick and Babs were over in the opposite corner, sipping champagne and chatting with James Gordon, dressed as Ariel and Prince Eric. Barbara had on a long, green mermaid tail, the tips of the fins dragging on the floor. Her long red hair was curled, and Dick looked quite dashing, standing there in a prince costume. Steph elbowed Jason and nodded towards them, but he shook his head, hanging back.

"I'm gonna...hang around here, for a bit," Jason said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You go ahead."

"Are you sure?" Steph asked, and Jason nodded waving her off. Steph made her way over to Dick and Babs, grabbing her own champagne from the waiter who offered it to her. She picked her way through the crowd of mostly unfamiliar faces, until she got to the two people in this whole shindig she actually knew.

"Hey," she said, taking a sip of champagne. She managed not to pull a face, even though she hated the taste. "How are you guys?"

"Steph, you look amazing," Babs gushed, leaning forward to grab Steph's free hand. "Your hair is spectacular."

"Thanks," Steph said, blushing a little. "Jason did it."

"Jason did that?" Dick asked, reaching out to touch one of her pigtails. Steph realised that Dick and Babs had probably both gotten into the champagne early. No crime fighting tonight, not for them, anyway. With that thought, she set her drink down, and looked around for Jason. She spotted him on the other side of the room, standing next to Cass with a drink in his hand. An actual drink - not champagne. She resolved to ask him where he'd found it. 

"I'm gonna go...talk to Jason," Steph said, leaving Dick and Babs as quickly as she found them. She made her way back through the crowd, until she was in front of Jason and Cass, who were deep in conversation about something.

"Hi," Steph said, wedging herself between them, thinking that perhaps there was safety in numbers.

"You're back," Jason said, taking a sip of his whiskey.

"Yeah, and I could use a drink. Not that though, I mean like a soda or something."

"I can find one," Cass said, slipping away into the crowd, leaving Jason and Stephanie standing there. Steph looked at him and sighed. 

“Having fun?" she asked. Jason side-eyed her.

"Does it look like I'm having fun?" he said.

“Where’d you get the whiskey?” Steph asked.

“I lived here for half my teenage years,” Jason shot her a crooked, but charming, smile. “I know my way around the liquor cabinet.”

Steph snorted, shaking her head at him. Jason was well-adjusted when he wanted to be, but the second it came to his family, he became an absolute hot mess. It was endearing, in a way, and something Steph could relate to - God knew when she was around her dad she wasn't her best self, either. She usually didn't turn to alcohol, though.

"I didn't think you were much of a drinker," Steph remarked. Jason took another sip of his whiskey.

"I'm not, which is why I feel great right now." He gave her a cheeky grin. Steph shook her head, taking the whiskey off him and taking a sip for herself. It burned down her throat and she pulled a face, handing it back.

"No thanks," she said. Jason downed the rest of it and set the glass aside on one of the tables. With nothing in his hands to distract him, he took to twisting his wedding ring around his finger, over and over, a nervous habit she'd noticed he'd picked up ever since he put the ring on. She hadn't taken him to be the type, but it seemed he was. She played with her ring, too - constantly. It was a constant reminder of what they'd done, the mistake they'd made that they couldn't fix. She looked at Jason, handsome as ever in his tux, and mentally berated herself for thinking of it as a mistake. Jason, no matter what he was doing, could never be a mistake. He was a good man, a good person. Someone who had shown her more love and kindness over these past few days than most people had shown her in her lifetime. 

"I found you a drink," Cass returned with a glass in hand, filled with a pink fizzy liquid. Steph accepted it and took a sip, a burst of raspberry sweetness on her tongue. Jason eyed off another champagne, but Steph gave him a look and he refrained, still playing with his wedding band.

"Thanks, Cass," Steph said, looking around the room at the costumed partygoers. Everyone had on some kind of make up or a mask, a mask further than the masks they wore every day, pretending to be good people, good members of this society. Steph was looking for one in particular, though.

"Tim!" she called out, spotting him across the room, dressed in Jedi robes and carrying a lightsaber. He waved to her and went back to his conversation with what looked to be someone from Wayne Enterprises, nodding his head diligently every so often. He caught her eye and mouthed "give me a minute" and Steph nodded, waiting. Jason had acquired another drink, and was looking around furtively, sipping it slowly. Steph left him to it, crossing the room to meet Tim halfway when he'd started making his way over to her.

"Hi," she said, looking him up and down.

"Hi," he returned, doing the same. His eyes lingered on the diamond on her finger, but he didn't say anything about it. "Shall we walk?"

Steph followed him around the ballroom, saying hello to the occasional person she recognised, including a reporter and his wife from Metropolis Tim seemed to know well. They chatted with them for a few moments until they'd made their way to the other side of the ballroom, away from prying eyes and listening ears. Bruce was standing in the middle of the dancefloor, readying himself to give a speech, but Tim had only eyes for her.

"It's good to see you," Steph managed, clasping her hands together in front of her. Tim leaned up against the wall and gripped his lightsaber, looking her over again.

"It's good to see you too. I'm sorry I haven't been replying much lately," Tim glanced to the side, looking over the rabble of Wayne Enterprises employees that were in the building, along with their friends and family. "It's been busy at work, you know. And busy with the other job."

"Yeah," Steph said, knowing all too well just how busy the other job could get. "I haven't seen you out on patrol, much."

"I've been sticking to North Gotham," Tim said, tucking a strand of his too-long hair behind his ear. "Not a lot of muggings up that way, but more in the way of white collar crime. Feels good to do something about it."

"Yeah, I bet," Steph murmured, looking at the ground. She glanced at the ring on her finger and moved her hand to cover it, just for a moment, fingering the diamond gently. "Tim," she said, her voice rising in pitch, her nervousness palpable, "I just wanted to ask. Are we cool?"

"Yeah, Steph," Tim gave her a gentle smile, the bags under his eyes more stark in contrast. "We're cool."

"You're not mad at me?" Steph asked. Tim laughed.

"No, of course I'm not mad at you," he said. "I was...surprised, when I found out, but it's not like the two of you are actually together, right? So it's whatever."

"Right," Steph said, thinking of the moment earlier, in their bedroom, where she and Jason had looked at each other like they were the entire world, and her heart had pounded in her chest, and the blush that had come on her cheeks had been pink like a Gotham sunset. It wasn't like it was real. It was a fake marriage, a fake relationship. Nothing for anyone to get upset over. 

"Besides," Tim said with a smirk, "The two of you are kind of perfect for each other."

Steph laughed at that, the kind of canned laughter that conveyed a hint of fear. Tim didn't pick up on it, though, smiling at her easily, and Steph smiled back, twisting the ring on her hand over and over, the same way Jason did. 

"Let's get back to the party," Tim said, and Steph followed him into the crowd, which was dispersing amongst the tables after Bruce's speech. Steph realised she hadn't heard a word of it, that she wasn't even sure what tonight's gala was supposed to be raising funds for. She looked around, trying to divulge some clues from the patrons, but all she got was that everyone there was obscenely rich. Richer than she would ever be. Steph returned to Jason's side to find him drinkless, but chewing something. She glanced at him and smiled when she realised it was gum.

"You good?" she asked. He looked at her, chewing furiously.

"I need a smoke," he said, "But I guarantee you if I go outside to smoke now Alfred would grab me by the ear and give me a good dressing down. So I'm using the gum."

"I would pay money to see that," Steph giggled, nudging him in the side. He nudged her back, smiling.

"You two look like you're having fun," Tim said.

"Hey, Replacement," Jason said, holding out his hand. Tim clasped it in his and gave it one shake, and the two brothers looked at each other, something unspoken crossing their gazes. Steph didn't know what to make of it, but Tim let go of Jason's hand and stepped back, offering him a tired smile.

"I better get back to mingling," Tim said, looking around at the room full of people. "Bruce'll go off if he finds out I wasn't being a good host."

"Seeya, Tim," Steph replied. Tim inclined his head at them both and melted back into the crowd.

"So are you and Timmy good now?" Jason asked, taking a bite of some prosciutto-wrapped thing he'd pulled off a waiter's tray. He looked at her curiously, swallowing the mouthful of food. Steph wondered where he'd put his gum, and decided that was too gross to think about, and also that i f he'd stuck it under a table she was going to drag him out to the driveway and kick his ass.

"Yeah, I think we're good," Steph replied. She took another sip of her drink, mulling it over. They were good, right? Tim had said they were good, because it wasn't real.

And it wasn't. It wasn't real. 

"I'm glad the two of you were able to sort it out," Jason said, sounding sincere. Steph glanced at him, chewing on her lip thoughtfully, and took another sip of her drink so she didn't have to reply. Two more months, she thought to herself. Just two months and they could get it annulled, and then this - feeling - whatever it was - would fade back into the obscurity from which it came, and five years down the line she and Jason would laugh about that time they got married, and it would all be fine. It had to be. Steph hadn't told Jason her fears and anxieties about Tim, but he'd noticed, because that was the kind of person he was - he was observant, he realised things. Like that his wife was worried about his brother's feelings about them being married, even if it was all just going to get annulled in a couple of months anyway.

"Champagne?" A waiter stopped by their table and held out a tray. Stephanie held up one hand, gesturing that she didn't want any, but Jason grabbed two off the tray anyway. Once the waiter was gone, he drank both of them, looking over at Steph with a grin on his face.

"Jason, you're going to get drunk," Steph said.

"Better than dealing with these rich idiots," Jason replied, placing the glasses down. "Yes, I'm including Bruce in that."

Stephanie sighed, because she knew this night was going to end with her hauling Jason's drunk ass home. Still, if that's what it took to get him through the party without incident, who was she to judge?

"Fine," she said, shaking her head. "Just promise me I won't have to carry you out of here like you're my bride."

"You think you can lift me?" Jason teased.

"I hauled your fat ass up onto the rocking chair," Steph smirked. Jason laughed at that.

"Oh no," Jason groaned. "The photographer's coming this way-"

"Photo?" The photograph held his camera up and them. Steph and Jason shared a look, and Steph, deciding Jason's discomfort at this point was hilarious, and also knowing damn well this picture would end up in the pages of the Gotham Gazette, grinned. 

"Of course," she said, and she leaned into Jason's side and smiled. He begrudgingly put an arm around her, and they smiled as the camera flashed a couple of times, capturing a couple of images of them.

"Thanks," Steph said, and the photographer smiled at them both.

"Congratulations, by the way," he said, nodding to Steph's ring. "The two of you were the talk of the office for a week."

"Oh," Steph said, surprised. "Um, thank you."

The photographer smiled and wandered away to snag some more photos of partygoers, leaving Jason and Stephanie sitting at the table together.

"Hey, Steph," Jason said, and Steph gave him a sharp look, because she didn't like the tone in his voice. "I don't feel so good."

"Because you're drunk, you big dummy," Steph replied, sighing and resting her head against her hand, rubbing her forehead gently. "You've had like, what, six champagnes?"

"Seven," Jason said. "And two whiskeys."

"And you haven't eaten anything," Steph said. "Right. Are we blowing this popsicle stand, or can you hold out a bit longer?"

"I ate two of those puff things," Jason protested, but he was looking at her with bleary eyes. Dinner hadn't even been served yet, though Steph could see waiters carrying plates out to tables, and she looked at Jason seriously. He was still sitting upright, even if his eyes were a little bloodshot, and he wasn't slurring his words or anything. She decided he could hold it out a bit longer.

"Okay, listen to me," Steph murmured, grabbing his arm and leaning in close. "We're going to eat dinner. We're going to listen to Bruce's next speech, or whoever is supposed to be speaking after that. And then we're going to slip out before dessert, okay?"

"Alright," Jason said.

"And I'm cutting you off," Steph said. "And so help me God, if you cause a scene between now and when we leave, I will throw you off of Wayne Tower."

"No you wouldn't," Jason gave her one of his lopsided grins, and she shook her head, because he was right. She wouldn't.

They ate in silence, laughing occasionally at the conversation at the table, which contained a myriad of people Steph didn't recognise. Cass and Tim were sitting at another table together, and Dick and Babs at another table still. The Wayne family was spread across the various tables throughout the ballroom, doing their duty as Waynes to entertain and mingle with the guests. It was a good tactic, Steph supposed - butter up the gentry to get them to donate to whatever tonight's cause was. The children's hospital, she vaguely remembered someone saying, perhaps Cassandra, earlier that evening. They had finished dinner when someone got up to the microphone and gestured for everyone to be quiet.

"Hey everyone," he said. Steph nudged Jason in the side.

"Who's that?" she whispered. Jason peered over at him.

"Bobby somebody. He's some bigwig at Wayne Enterprises," he replied. Steph nodded.

"Right," Bobby said, grinning at the crowd. "We're going to announce the winners of the costume contest."

"This was a contest? Steph whispered. Jason shrugged at her. 

"Best costume goes to...Kate Kane!" He said. Kate grinned as everyone clapped around her. "Your prize, Kate, is a donation to a charity of your choice."

Kate nodded, still smiling, and leaned over to say something to the woman sitting next to her. Steph clapped politely, watching as Jason threw his hands together, and one of the other Batboys - Dick, by the looks of it - whistled, sharp and clear. She remembered that whistle from many nights in the field, and laughed under her breath, watching as Bobby pulled out a card.

“The next prize of the evening is best couple’s costume,” Bobby leaned in close to the microphone, sending a bit of feedback through the speakers. Everyone winced, but nobody complained as he leaned back, squinting down at the card. “And that goes to....Jason Todd and his wife, Stephanie Brown, as Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon!”

“What?” Steph said audibly. She looked over at Jason, who shrugged, and around at the people clapping surrounding them. Kate was grinning at them, applauding enthusiastically, and there was another whistle and a whoop from Dick and Barbara’s side of the room. Steph blushed, looking down, and Jason put his arm around her, allowing the photographer to snap another photo of them.

“Your prize is a donation to a charity of your choice!” Bobby said.

“Youth homelessness!” Jason blurted out, looking over at Stephanie. “That’s okay, right?”

“Yeah, of course. It’s what I would have picked, anyway.” Steph grinned at him, unable to believe they’d won best couples costume. Bobby went back to droning on into the microphone, and Stephanie took a good look at Jason and shook her head.

“You ready to leave?” she asked him. He nodded, looking more than a little intoxicated. She got up and they slipped out the back, passing people returning from the bathroom, where she dragged him first. She splashed a little water on his face and wiped it off with a hand towel, squinting at him. “Okay. You good?”

“I’m good,” Jason said. “I am not that drunk.”

“Sure you’re not.” Steph slung Jason's arm over her shoulders and put her arm around his waist, guiding him out of the bathroom and down the entry hall until they got to the steps. She hadn't said goodbye to any of the Waynes, but she just wanted to get home, and Jason did too. She could send a message to the group chat later, explain Jason wasn’t feeling well and they’d headed out after the costume contest. She helped him down the stairs, shaking her head at him as he stumbled and groaned.

"Steph," he whined, "I want to go home."

"We're going home," Steph said, pulling the car keys out of his pocket. She unlocked the car and dragged him over to the passenger seat, opening the door and shrugging him off, so that he fell inside with all the dignity of a newborn foal. Jason buckled himself in, grinning up at her as she closed the door. She walked around to the driver's seat, grateful she'd only had one champagne, if even that, and that she could still drive them home. Jason hadn't been thinking of that when he'd started drinking, now had he? It was a quiet drive back to the apartment, and Jason rolled down the window, leaning out of it and letting the breeze rake through his hair like a dog would. He grinned at her, illuminated by the street lights, and Steph smiled to herself, shaking her head at this huge, dumb boy who did what he wanted, consequences be damned. Once they were home, she pulled him out of the passenger seat, shouldering him again.

"I can walk," he protested, but she clung on to him stubbornly.

"What do you have in your hand?" she asked.

"A rose," Jason replied. "I stole it out of the garden. Tuxedo Mask carries a rose, right?"

"You've seen Sailor Moon?" Steph asked, hitting the button to take them up to their floor. Jason grinned at her, holding out the rose.

"For you," he said. Stephanie took it and felt herself blush.

"Thank you," she said. "Boy, you really are drunk."

"I'm not," Jason said, but he was, at least a little. Once they were inside, he started stripping off his costume, leaving the cape and mask in the kitchen, discarding his suit jacket in the hall, and unbuttoning his shirt and letting it fall to the floor in the doorway of the bedroom. Steph followed him, picked each item up, laughing as he collapsed on their bed with a groan.

"Rough day, big guy?" she asked. He looked up at her, his head swimming, and grinned.

"Hey, Steph," he said, when she went to walk away. She stopped and turned back to him, looking curiously. He held out a hand to her, and she took it, letting him pull her onto the bed. She sank onto the soft mattress and sat there, her hands crossed in her lap.

"What, Jason?" she asked, her voice soft. He smiled at her, a bright, dazzling smile, second to none.

"I just wanted to say," he said, still grinning, "I think you're my best friend."

"Go to sleep, you drunk idiot," Steph said, but she felt a warm glow in her chest, like she was the one who had drunk too much champagne. Jason grinned at her again and closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling. She looked at the scars that covered him and shook her head, not knowing what to say to him. She was starting to think he was her best friend, too, but she didn't know how this had happened. They were so in sync, all the time - they had been since they got married. She didn't know what to make of it, either way, didn't know what to think.

Steph made her way back out to the kitchen, where she’d left the rose on the kitchen counter. She picked it up and inhaled in the sweet scent, the petals tickling the tip of her nose. She smiled a soft smile to herself and walked over to the hallway table, where they’d put the vase from Kate, and dropped the rose inside, wincing when one of the thorns nicked her thumb. She sucked the blood away as she walked back to the kitchen sink, filling a cup with water and pouring it into the vase for the flower. The flower Jason had given her. She smiled again, touching the petals lightly, and began the slow process of getting ready for bed.

Steph pulled the hair pieces from her buns, dropping them onto the counter, and started pulling bobby pins and elastics out of her hair, letting it fall down into her face. She unclipped the extensions one by one, leaving them beside the collection of hair accessories she’d left on the counter, and pulled off the tiara, shaking her hair free. Her scalp ached from being pulled so tight all night, so she ran her fingers through her hair, massaging the tender spots on the crown of her head.

She made her way down the hall to the bathroom, stepping inside quietly, and pulled out a packet of wipes. She wiped the foundation from her face, the lipstick, the mascara, leaving pink and black smears all over the pale white, her skin tingling from the fresh, cool feeling of being wiped clean. She pulled out her face cream and dabbed some across her cheeks and forehead, rubbing it in slowly, watching as her reflection stared back at her. She could hear Jason snoring, having apparently passed out in his haze, and finally getting some rest. He mumbled something in his sleep and rolled over, and she sighed, staring at herself in the mirror. She brushed her teeth, spitting once, and rinsed her mouth clean, and then made her way back into the bedroom, pulling out a set of pyjamas from her drawers. She slid them shut quietly, so as not to wake Jason, and got changed in the dark, only a little light from the bathroom peeking through.

She left her costume discarded on the bedroom floor and walked back out to the bathroom, flicking the light off and sitting on the edge of the bed, staring down at Jason’s sleeping form. The pomade was still in his hair, so it was still slicked back some, but the white streak stubbornly fell into his eyes, covering his right eyebrow. She reached out and brushed it back from his face, and he rolled, ending up on his back and exhaling deeply. He kicked one leg free from the covers and stuck it on her side of the bed, stretching out.

“I think you’re my best friend, too,” Steph said quietly, but only the darkness heard her, and it offered no reply.


	12. Chapter 12

There was a knock at the door. Steph looked up from the book she was reading and glanced around, waiting for Jason to answer it, until she remembered, with a jolt, that Jason wasn't there. He'd gone down to the market for something, and was being secretive as always. The knock sounded again, and she got up, tossing her book aside and wandering over to the door. She opened it and found herself face-to-face with a baby.

"Guh," the baby gurgled. Steph blinked and looked around to see Timothy Drake standing there, holding the baby out to her.

"Tag. You're it." He sounded bored.

"Excuse me?" Stephanie said, instinctively reaching out and taking the baby from him, shifting her in her arms so that she was settled and her head was supported. Tim folded his arms over his chest.

"Your child smuggling case. Your child. Tag. You're it."

"Wh- wait, you're not leaving this baby here!"

"You heard me, Steph," Tim gave her a tired grin. "Your case, your baby. I've been babysitting for four days while Babs tried to find her parents, but there's no leads. You were the one who got it in your head you were taking down the Romano family single-handedly. So that means this baby is your problem."

"Oh no," Steph said, bouncing the baby in her arms awkwardly as she started fussing, reaching out for Tim and sooking. "See, she wants to be with you."

"Oh no," Tim replied. "I insist, Steph. It's the least I could do."

"What?" Steph scoffed, trying to get the unwieldy baby back into a comfortable position.

"Your case. Your baby." Tim grinned at her, turning and walking back to the elevator. "Love you, bye!" He called out over his shoulder, leaving Stephanie standing there, holding a five-month-old baby in her arms. She realised, after a moment, that Tim hadn't just left her a baby - no, by her front door was a baby capsule, a tin of formula, and a box of diapers. Steph groaned, shifting the baby in her arms more comfortably, and wondered how the hell she was going to tell Jason.

The elevator dinged and Jason stepped off, glancing behind him, confused. "Was that Tim I saw in the parking- oh." He stopped, looking at Stephanie and the baby with a faint look of alarm. "Who's this, Steph?"

"This is, um." Steph said, and she realised Tim hadn't told her the baby's name, but based on what he'd told her - that this baby was related to the Romano case - there was a pretty good chance they didn't know her name, if they didn't know who her parents were. "This is the baby?"

"Whose baby?"

"Our - our baby?" Steph said. Jason stared at her in horror for a moment.

"Steph," he said slowly, like perhaps she'd suddenly become very stupid, "You know that in order for us to have a baby, we'd have to-"

"Not OUR baby," Steph shot back, blushing a deep pink. "She's - the child smuggling case. Barbara and Tim can't find her family, and they decided she's our problem until they do."

“Huh,” Jason said, looking between the baby and Stephanie. He shrugged and slid past them, carrying the load of groceries inside, setting the paper bags down on the kitchen counter. Stephanie followed him in, letting the door close behind her, still bouncing the baby on her hip, leaving everything Tim had dumped on their doorstep exactly where he’d left it. Jason started unpacking the bags into the fridge, starting with the vegetables, including something leafy and green and suspiciously healthy looking Stephanie suspected was kale.

The baby grabbed a strand of Stephanie’s loose hair and tugged, gurgling at her.

“Ow!” Steph exclaimed, reaching up to grab her hair. “Don’t do that!”

Jason snorted, covering his mouth with his hand in a pathetic attempt to disguise his laugh as a cough. Stephanie glared at him as the baby clapped her hands and kicked her legs, squirming to get out of Steph’s grasp. Jason returned to the groceries.

“What are we going to do with-” Steph shifted, struggling to maintain a grip on the wriggly tyke, “-this little angel?”

“We can always take her back,” Jason said, opening a cupboard to pack away some plates from the dishwasher. “Admit defeat early, take the hit to our egos and keep going.”

“We’re not doing that,” Stephanie replied, swapping the baby from one hip to the other. “Tim would get the last laugh then, and I’m not letting Tim win.”

“He doesn’t have to look after a baby. I think he’s already won,” Jason replied, closing the cupboard and opening another. It clipped his face, sending him stumbling backwards with a string of curse words. The baby looked up, delighted, and laughed, a pure, delighted squeal of laughter that only a baby could make.

“Oh ho,” Stephanie’s mouth formed a perfect o as she laughed at Jason. “You like that, baby? You like it when Jason gets hurt?”

“Ah!” The baby exclaimed, clapping her hands together. Stephanie laughed with her, watching as Jason rubbed his jaw and glared at the both of them, clearly unimpressed.

“Can you put the baby down and help me?” Jason asked, one hand still on his face. Stephanie snorted and held the baby in her arms, shaking her head.

“Not unless you go outside and grab the capsule so she has somewhere to sit. You can bring the rest of it in too, while you’re out there.”

Jason grumbled, but did as he was told, going back out the front door and collecting what Tim had left them. He walked inside with the capsule in one hand, the formula tin inside it, and the box of diapers under his other arm. He deposited the diapers next to the hallway table and left the capsule on the couch, pulling out the baby formula tin and sitting it on the coffee table.

“There,” he said, stepping back. “Put the baby down and come help.”

“Gladly,” Steph said, feeling another tug on her hair. She was going to have to start wearing it up if the baby was going to be around for much longer - she found herself praying that Babs would get a lead on her parents sooner rather than later. She was so not ready to be a mother, and Jason wasn’t exactly father material. They were vigilantes, for crying out loud. Neither of them were exactly leading stable, wholesome, healthy lives for a kid to be around. She placed the baby in the capsule and left her on the couch, kicking her little feet and making nonsense sounds to herself. Steph walked back to the kitchen, where Jason was already packing away the last of the groceries, and went to unload the rest of the dishwasher.

“Well, this is a shitshow,” Jason said, leaning up against the counter, looking over to the baby on the couch. “I don’t know shit about kids. Do you?”

“Not really,” Steph said, wiping a still-wet dish on a teatowel. “I used to babysit, a bit, but I’ve never looked after a baby for more than a few hours.”

“Me either,” Jason said. Stephanie made a mental note to ask him about what he meant by that later, packing the last of the bowls into the cupboard. She put both their mugs in the next cupboard over as Jason folded the paper grocery bags to put into the recycling bin later, deep in thought. He pulled a stick of gum out of his pocket and popped it into his mouth, chewing it slowly, casting a sideways glance to Stephanie, who walked over to the capsule, folding her arms over her chest.

Stephanie stared down at the baby, at her cherubic face and wide green eyes, framed by dark, doelike lashes, the perfect curve of her pink lips. She felt an ache inside her, and she reached down, letting the baby grasp her index finger with one tiny, chubby hand. The baby made nonsense noises at her, gurgling and blowing a spit bubble at her. It startled a laugh out of Steph, who didn’t quite know what to make of it, of this tiny baby that had been dropped into their lives.

“Hi, baby,” Steph whispered, kneeling down so she was face-to-face with the baby. “I’m Steph.”

“Gah!” The baby exclaimed, shaking a tiny fist at her. Steph grinned, tickling her hands with one finger.

“Don’t get attached,” Jason warned, walking up behind her. “We’re not keeping her.”

“She’s not a lost cat, Jason,” Steph said. “Of course we’re not keeping her.”

"Good," Jason said. He leaned in to look at her, a tiny smile forming on his face. "She's pretty cute."

"Yeah, she is," Steph said, smiling and tickling her toes again. Her chubby little feet kicked into the air and she giggled, waving her fists at them and squirming. Steph smiled and did it again, and she giggled again, smiling a toothless, gummy smile at the both of them. 

"Okay," Jason kneeled next to her, grinning, and reaching out to tickle the baby's feet himself, "That is pretty damn cute."

"We can't keep her," Steph parroted back at him, and he rolled his eyes, elbowing her in the ribs gently. Steph laughed, and the baby laughed too, like she was happy to be in on a joke she couldn't have possibly even understood.

"Aw, she's - wait." Jason sniffed the air. He inhaled again, and then immediately gagged, rolling away on the floor and covering his mouth and nose with one hand. "What is that?"

"Ugh," Steph groaned, leaning away from the baby, pinching her nose. "I think she's - oh no."

"I'm not changing it!" Jason exclaimed, rolling further away, bumping into the coffee table and whacking his head again. He laid back with a groan, rubbing his head as the baby giggled and kicked her feet.

"Fine," Steph said, sitting upright. "I'll do this one, but you're doing the next one."

"Deal," Jason said, still cupping his hand over his nose and mouth. He gagged again as Steph picked the baby up and held her out, looking at her bright eyes. The baby giggled, like she knew what was going on, and gave Steph a cute, baby smile. Steph carried the baby to the bathroom, where she set her down on the bathroom counter and started unclipping her little bodysuit. Jason followed, bringing in the box of diapers, and immediately tuned to escape the moment he'd set them down inside the door. Steph rolled her eyes, returning to the baby.

"Jason's a big coward," she cooed, tickling the baby's bare stomach. "He thinks he's the big tough Red Hood, but he won't even change a diaper, will he, angel?"

"Bah!" The baby exclaimed, kicking her legs again. Steph tried not to smile, pulling the bodysuit up further and pulling the diaper off. The smile immediately slipped from her face and she retched a little, wrinkling her nose at the horrid, foul smell.

"Oh my god," she mumbled, reaching into the drawer for the pack of baby wipes she kept in there to remove her makeup, thankful now that she'd only bought a new packet a week or so beforehand. She was probably going to go through the entire thing just on this one diaper.

She deposited the dirty diaper and used wipes in the bin and pulled out a fresh one, sliding it around the baby's hips and sticking it in place. The baby wriggled, babbling at her, and tried to roll away when Steph went to clasp her suit back up.

"Don't even try it, baby," she said, holding the baby down with one hand and doing the suit up with the other, clipping the little clasps back in place. It was a plain pink bodysuit, with no embellishments. Steph felt the baby's hands and frowned, thinking they felt a little cold. She resolved to go through what Tim had left them and see if there was a blanket inside she could swaddle the baby in, because her instincts were telling her that with the cool weather outside, the baby needed to be warmer to the touch.

"All done," Steph said in a sing-song voice, carrying the baby back out to the living room. 

"How did the little angel go?" Jason asked, sitting up. He was going through the bag Tim had left them, which included a couple of little outfits, some booties, and a little baby beanie, to warm her precious head.

"She's a squirmy little thing," Steph said, carrying her back over to the capsule and placing her inside. "God, we don't have a crib or anything. What are we going to do?"

At that, there was a knock on the door. Steph and Jason shared a look, because so far, knocks on their door had not led to very good things happening for them, but Jason got up and made his way over to it. He peered through the peephole - something Stephanie thought perhaps she should start doing more often - and pulled it open, revealing Alfred on the other side.

“Good day, Master Jason.” He nodded to Stephanie and the baby. “Miss Stephanie.”

“Alfred,” Stephanie said warmly, sitting up straighter, “What are you doing here?”

“It was my understanding that Master Timothy left the two of you with an unexpected surprise this morning,” Alfred replied, mirth colouring his voice. “A late wedding present, perhaps.”

“You could say that,” Jason nodded, looking over to Stephanie. She smirked back at him.

“I came with some supplies,” Alfred said, stepping aside to reveal a beautiful mahogany crib, filled with baby-related items, including more tins of formula, some bottles - something Tim had neglected to leave them with - and blankets, and more tiny little baby outfits, much to Steph’s delight. “I thought perhaps the two of you could use a hand, and Lord knows I got plenty of experience when Master Bruce was still in diapers.”

“That is a massive help, Alfred, thank you.” Stephanie looked back down at the baby, tickling her toes again. “We just learned that Jason’s a big coward, didn’t we, baby?”

“The smell coming out of that thing was unnatural,” Jason shot back, stepping aside so Alfred could come inside.

"I am certain at one time or another your parents said the same about you, Master Jason," Alfred wheeled the crib inside, placing it along the far wall, by the windows. He started removing items out of it one by one, leaving Jason to find a place to put it all. He settled for one of their bare kitchen cupboards for the formula and bottles, and in the bag for the clothing. Steph picked up a tiny little onesie and squeed internally over it, lightly touching the little feet and the embroidered collar, smiling to herself. Alfred and Jason made short work of the supplies, setting up the house so that Steph and Jason were prepared for almost anything the baby could throw at them - prepared for the baby's basic needs, at the very least. It gave Steph some comfort to know they weren't alone in this, that the rest of the family - but especially Alfred - were just a call away if they needed help with anything. It gave her hope that if she ever did have a child of her own, the same would be true, and help would be only a phone call away. 

"That should just about do it," Alfred said, stepping back to admire the made up crib, turning to look at the baby. She stared up at him with her bright green eyes, her mouth stretching out into a tiny yawn, and she waved a fist at him, her face breaking out into a smile. "My," he said, smiling back at her. "She is a beautiful baby."

"She is, isn't she?" Steph said. "I wonder what happened to her parents."

"I believe Master Bruce is on the case regarding that," Alfred replied. "Never fear. If anybody can find them, I am sure he will." 

"Yeah, I sure hope so," Steph said, reaching into the capsule to gather the baby into her arms, giving her a gentle little bounce. The baby yawned again, making a squeaking sound not unlike a newborn kitten, and kicked her feet against Stephanie's side. "Ooft, you've got strong little legs on you, baby."

"Maybe she'll grow up to be a soccer player," Jason joked, leaning in to tickle her cheek. Alfred watched the three of them, a knowing smile on his face, but chose to say nothing, nothing at all.

"Let's put the little angel down for a nap," Steph said, walking over to the crib and laying her inside, pulling the blanket firmly over her so she wasn't restricted, but couldn't wriggle too far out from underneath it. The baby stared up at her, yawning again, wriggling down into a comfortable position. Steph went to turn away, back to where Jason and Alfred were talking, but found herself caught in place. The baby had grabbed two of her fingers with one dainty little fist and was hanging on for dear life, gripping Stephanie's hand with all the strength she could muster in her tiny body.

"Hey, now, angel," Steph whispered, leaning in and extracting her hand slowly, "I'm not going too far away. But you've got to get some rest now. You've had a big day, meeting all these new people, and you're all worn out. How does that sound?"

"Ba," the baby murmured, nuzzling down into her bed. She kept one hand up, reaching for Steph, but slowly it dropped down as she lulled herself into sleep. Steph smiled and turned away, feeling something tug in her heart, and looked back to Jason and Alfred, who were speaking quietly in the kitchen.

"I was just asking Master Jason if the two of you have any further need for my services," Alfred said, resting his hands in front of him. "I know how tough babies can be at this age, and I have ample experience in the area, of course. But if you would rather handle this yourselves, I understand."

Steph and Jason shared a look, and Steph swore she could almost hear what he was thinking, so she felt pretty confident in her answer when she said, "Thanks, but no thanks, Alfred. We can handle it from here."

"If you're sure," Alfred nodded at each of them in turn.

"We're two of the toughest heroes in Gotham," Jason said, full of bravado. "What's one little baby going to do?"

"I admire your confidence, Master Jason," Alfred said with an amused facial expression, the corners of his mouth twitching up into a smile. "I will leave you both to it, then."

"Thank you so much for bringing all those things over," Steph said, stepping back so Alfred could walk by. "I don't know what we would have done without you."

"The same thing the rest of the Wayne family does without me, Miss Stephanie," Alfred laughed.

"And what's that, Alf?" Jason asked.

"Crash and burn." Alfred chuckled. "Have a good day, both of you. And please do remember, I am just a call away should you need it."

With that, he saw himself out of the apartment, closing the door quietly behind him so as not to wake the baby. Steph and Jason looked at each other, still a little in shock, and each took a seat on the couch, where they could watch the baby sleeping without disturbing her. 

"Well," Jason said, running his fingers through his hair, ""I guess this is our problem for the foreseeable future."

"And if Alfred came over with baby supplies, the search for her parents mustn't be going well," Steph replied, digging into the flesh beside her thumbnail with one of her fingernails, worrying at and picking the shred of skin there. Jason watched her for a moment, picking at her hands, and then gently reached out and took her hand in his. She looked down at him, surprised, at their hands entwined, and gently threaded her fingers through his, sitting on her other hand so she wouldn't feel the urge to keep picking at her skin. They sat like that in silence for what felt like a lifetime, until Jason finally let her go, and she brought both hands to her lap and clasped them together. Soon enough, though, she was biting at the skin around her thumbnail again, watching the baby sleep, deep in thought. Jason reached over and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Steph," he said softly, catching her attention. She looked away from the baby and over to him, her hand slowly moving down from her mouth and back to her lap, and she swallowed, aware of the tang of blood on her tongue. "What' s wrong?"

"I don't think I can do this," Steph said quietly, glancing back over to the crib before meeting Jason's gaze again. "I...she's a dream, Jason, she really is. Such a good baby. But....I'm not cut out for all this."

"It's just for a little while," Jason said, "And you said you've babysat before."

"Yeah," Steph said, looking at the ground, "I have. But when I had my baby, I gave her up."

Jason was stunned into silence for a moment. He gave Stephanie a steady look, and gently reached out and took her hand again, this time with even more care than before. He ran his thumb over her knuckles, one by one, and after a moment he pulled her into his arms. Steph stiffened, managing not to immediately pull away, surprised by the gesture.

"What are you doing?" Steph asked, muffled slightly by the faceful of Jason's hoodie she was getting.

"Comforting you?" Jason said in return, looking down at her. "Did I misread the situation?"

"No, I appreciate it, it's just...unexpected," Steph said, relaxing into his arms.

"If you ever want to talk about it, I'm here," Jason said. "I mean it, Steph. Any time."

"Thank you," Steph said softly, looking up at him. "I was just a kid, you know? I was a kid, and I was a vigilante, my mom was an addict and my dad was a supervillain. It wasn't the right environment to bring a baby up in."

"Sounds like you made the right decision," Jason said, falling silent for a moment. Steph leaned into him further, inhaling his scent. He smelled of cigarettes and cinnamon, and it wasn't an unwelcome scent, just different. He broke the silence a moment later. "My mother was an addict, too."

"I'm sorry," Steph said, not knowing what else to say. There were rarely words that could sum up the sheer awfulness that was the shared commiseration of a fucked up childhood. _ I'm sorry that happened to you _ didn't quite cut it. _ I'm sorry you grew up that way. I'm sorry nobody was there to save you. I'm sorry you got out, and things didn't get better. I'm sorry you have to carry that with you, every day, for the rest of your life. I'm sorry your trauma has shaped you into the beautiful person I know; it did not make you any more than you made yourself, but it affected you deeply, and for that I can only apologise and hope to God things got better. _

There weren't adequate words, so Steph said none of them, but she knew Jason in that moment, knew his struggles and his pain. They had been her own, a mother who was too self-occupied to see what her husband was doing right under her nose, a childhood of growing up poor and alone, in a broken system that didn't believe kids whose parents could still manage to put food on the table, who didn't turn up every day with visible bruises. Some scars went deeper than that. And some were just well-hidden.

Steph looked over to the baby, resting her head on Jason's shoulder, and thanked whatever god was listening that their work on the child smuggling case had saved her from a worse fate, but she hoped to God when they found her family it would be one better than she and Jason had ever faced. Steph silently vowed to ensure it herself, if she had to, to offer them whatever help or resources they might need. Too many children had grown up in homes broken for her to be comfortable. That was why she did the work she did. So that no child had to grow up believing there were no heroes, that nobody was coming to save them. Sometimes your hero might just be around the corner - and sometimes, like her and Jason, your hero had to be yourself.


	13. Chapter 13

They were both pretty light sleepers, which meant that any time the baby cried, they'd both wake up.

Stephanie lifted her head off the pillow and groaned. She heard Jason mumble a curse under his breath.

"It's your turn," she said, flopping back onto her pillow and punching it a few times to get it back into the right place. Jason mumbled something under his breath, but rolled out of bed, walking around the bed and wandering down the hall. Stephanie took the moment to appreciate the sight of a topless Jason making his way down the hall, smirking to herself, before she rolled over and closed her eyes again. She heard the soft sounds of Jason talking, and the baby calming down, full blown cries dying down to whimpers and eventually settling into silence. Steph smiled and tugged her quilt up higher, tucking it under her chin and moving her feet to the cool part of the bed. She heard the microwave beep as Jason prepared the baby's bottle, and then the unmistakable sound of him swearing because he'd just poured hot milk onto his hand. There was the sound of the tap running, and then silence. Steph waited for a few minutes until she heard Jason's voice again, and she took a deep exhale, trying to get back to sleep. Jason snuck his way back into the room a few minutes later, yawning and scratching the side of his jaw, climbing over her to get back into the bed.

"She asleep?" Steph asked, not opening her eyes. Jason flopped on the bed and squirmed his way under the quilt, yawning.

"Yeah, I think so," he said, pulling the quilt up to cover his chest. He rolled over so his back was to Stephanie, and within a few minutes she could hear him snoring softly. Steph sighed, content, and fell back to sleep.

When the day had dawned and it was an actually reasonable hour for them to be awake, Steph made her way out to the kitchen and started the coffee machine, pulling their mugs down from the cupboard. The baby was still asleep, snoozing quietly in her crib. Steph tucked a blonde strand behind her ear and leaned against the counter, smiling at the crib and the baby fast asleep in it.

"Good morning," Jason said, walking out in his boxers, his pyjama bottoms apparently discarded sometime during the night. Steph held a finger to her lips, nodding to the baby, and handed him a cup of coffee. He took an appreciative sip and lowered his voice. "Good morning," he said again. "The little angel still sleeping?"

"Yeah," Steph whispered back, pouring her own cup of coffee and opening the fridge to grab some whipped cream to add on top. She was feeling a little down today, and whipped cream on her coffee never failed to make her smile. She dropped a couple of teaspoons of sugar in and stirred, swirling the whipped cream on top. Jason watched her with an amused smirk, shaking his head.

"Your sweet tooth is second to none," he said, his voice soft. "That's barely a coffee, Steph. That's just another vehicle for you to get sugar into your body."

"Mm, but it tastes so good, though," Steph replied, taking a long sip. She looked Jason up and down for a moment, and then said, "So are you planning on putting pants on today, or do I get to enjoy this?"

"Pants are for after coffee," Jason replied. "It goes coffee, pants, shirt, breakfast."

"Okay," Stephanie snorted, shaking her head. She and Jason had gotten pretty comfortable with each other - she was in pyjama pants and a singlet, appreciating the warmth from her coffee. She glanced out the windows at the dark clouds forming outside and sighed. "Think we'll have to turn the heating on soon."

"Yeah, it is a bit chilly this morning," Jason replied, downing the rest of his coffee. As if on cue, they heard a huge yawn come from the crib, and then a string of little nonsense words, the baby just stringing sounds together to see what she could make. Jason grinned. "Sounds like somebody's awake."

"I'll go deal with baby," Steph said, putting her coffee aside. "You go get some clothes on."

"Yes ma'am," Jason laughed, heading back down the hall to their room. He emerged minutes later dressed in a navy t-shirt and jeans, finding Stephanie holding the baby in her arms, tickling her cheeks with her fingers, the both of them laughing. He leaned up against the doorway between the kitchen and the hall and smiled, watching Steph with the baby, how soft she became with her in her arms. This was the same woman he'd seen almost break a mobster's arm a few nights ago - and here she was, completely undone by the sight of two big eyes and a set of chubby cheeks. It was encouraging to see, because for all everyone seemed to think of Steph as the happy one, or as a jokester, Jason had come to understand that persona was covering for a deeply hurt woman, a woman who had experienced some of the worst life could have thrown at her. He was glad it wasn't all an act - that there was still a part of Stephanie that found joy in the simple things, like the sound of a baby's laugh. 

"Look, baby," Stephanie sang, turning to face Jason. "It's Jason!"

"Ja!" The baby exclaimed. Stephanie's mouth fell open, and she looked at Jason, excited.

"Did you hear that! She just tried to say your name!"

"Hi, baby," Jason walked over, holding his arms out. Steph handed the baby over, letting him bounce her a little as she settled into his arms. "Did you try to say Jason? Can you say it? Jason."

"Ja!" The baby exclaimed again, grabbing at the white streak in Jason's hair.

"Ow - ouch, okay, no, don't pull Jason's hair," Jason handed her back to Stephanie, who was laughing. "Speaking of names, we really need to find something to call you. We can't just keep calling her baby."

"No, we can't," Steph agreed, pulling her head back sharply before the baby could get a grip on her hair. "Uh uh," she said, tickling the baby's stomach. "Don't pull Steph's hair either, angel."

"How about that?" Jason said, reaching over to support the baby's back while Steph held her. "Angel? We've been calling her it already."

"Sure." Steph grinned down at the baby, who was stubbornly trying to wiggle her way out of their grip and get back to Steph's hair. "What do you think, Angel?"

"Ah!" Angel exclaimed, clapping one hand against Stephanie's cheek. Stephanie laughed and puffed up her cheeks, giggling as Angel slapped them again. Jason smiled, looking down at the two of them, and thought there wasn’t a cuter scene he’d ever seen.

"Okay," Steph said, passing the bundle of squirming baby over into Jason's arms. "I'm going to have a shower and get dressed."

"No worries," Jason said, adjusting his grip so Angel was sitting in his arms securely. "We'll just be out here having breakfast, because it's about time for someone's bottle, isn't it?"

Angel grabbed at his hair again and giggled, kicking her legs out. Steph smiled at them both and disappeared to the bedroom, where she grabbed her clean clothes and made her way into the bathroom, checking for a clean towel before she climbed into the shower.

Jason put Angel in her capsule while he mixed the formula for her bottle. She made a whining sound, like she was going to start crying, and he turned back to face her, shaking his head.

"Uh uh uh," he said, pulling a face at her. "Your bottle is just going to take a minute, okay? There's no need for that."

She quietened down at the attention and busied herself with grabbing her own feet, kicking out her legs and waving her fists, her tongue poking out of her mouth. Jason grinned and tested the bottle on the back of his hand, pleased to find the milk was just warm enough. He heard the sound of the shower starting up, the rush of running water in the background as he leaned down and put the bottle in the baby's mouth, letting her take a drink. He stayed seated on the lounge with her like that, feeding her quietly, when he heard a squeal and a loud thud from the bathroom.

"Steph?" He called out, setting the bottle aside. There was no reply, but a loud exclamation of pain from the bathroom. Jason looked down at the baby, and, deciding she was safe enough on the lounge, rushed to the bathroom.

"Steph?" he tried again, opening the door and ducking his head inside. There was a string of curse words from the bathtub, and he stepped inside, closing his eyes so as not to see anything he wasn't supposed to. "You okay?"

"No, I am not fucking okay," Stephanie groaned, wet and pathetic in the bottom of the bathtub, where she'd slipped and fallen. "I'm - ow, shit, fuck, fuck fuck fuck-"

"What's wrong?" Jason opened one eye, and then the other, stepping towards the bathtub. Steph was sprawled in the bottom of it, covering her chest so as to preserve some dignity, and nursing what appeared to be a very dislocated shoulder.

"I need you to help me up," Steph replied, her face gravely pale. "I don't think I can get up with my arm like this."

"But-" Jason stammered a little. "You're naked-"

"I know I'm naked, dumbass," Steph shot back, exhaling through her nose and reaching up to touch her shoulder, wincing in pain. "But I can't pop this back in myself, and - just. Help me. Please."

"Okay," Jason said, reaching around to turn the shower off, moving quickly so she wouldn't get blasted by cold water as he did. Steph shivered, looking up at him pathetically, and reached up with her good arm. He pulled her upright, and let her balance her weight against him, supporting her as she stepped out of the tub. He was quick to grab her towel and help her cover herself with it, and when she had gotten herself somewhat decent, he leaned over to look at her shoulder.

"That must really hurt," he said. "Like, really fucking hurt."

"It really fucking does," Steph chirped back.

"Alright," Jason said, getting a closer look at it, the way it was hanging loose in its socket, wincing in sympathy, "I'm going to call Leslie."

"No you the fuck are not," Stephanie replied, a little delirious from pain. "You are going to pop it back in yourself."

"Steph," Jason said, but he was interrupted by the sound of the baby crying, sad little cries that echoed through the apartment. He and Stephanie shared a look, and he shook his head. "Fuck. I'll get the baby, you stay here."

"Can't exactly go anywhere," Steph replied, pulling the towel up higher, trying to support her dislocated shoulder. Jason walked out of the bathroom and returned holding the baby, who was whining, sobbing her little heart out. Steph looked up at her and winced as she jostled her shoulder a little.

"Hey, Angel," Steph said, her voice hoarse with pain. "I'm okay. I just need Jason to put my shoulder back in place. And to do that, he needs to put you down, so it would be really great if you could stop crying, okay?"

Angel looked between Stephanie and Jason, hiccupping at little, tears streaming down her cheeks. Jason rocked her a little, and she squirmed, reaching for Stephanie. Steph flinched as the baby touched her face, and looked up at Jason, breathing hard.

"Jason," she said, "Please."

"Okay, okay," Jason replied, taking the baby out to her crib and leaving her inside. She looked up at him, sniffling, and shook her fists at him. He looked down at her and sighed.

"Sorry, Angel," he said quietly, so Steph couldn't hear. "Steph needs help. We'll be back out to finish feeding you in a minute, okay?"

The baby fell silent, like she had understood every word, and Jason returned to the bathroom, where Steph had managed to sit on the edge of the tub, still struggling to keep herself covered with the towel and support her shoulder at the same time. She took a deep, shuddering breath, and looked up at Jason with tears in her eyes. Jason walked over and started feeling her shoulder, trying to pinpoint where exactly it had popped out of place.

"Okay," he said. He hesitated, one hand supporting her shoulder, the other holding onto her wrist as he got ready to manipulate her am back into place. "Are you sure you don't want me to call Leslie? Or take you to the hospital?"

"No," Steph hissed. "Just do it. I've popped my shoulder out plenty of times, Jason. I just need you to put it back in."

Jason nodded, took a deep breath, and pulled, twisting it back into place. There was a shift, and then discernible relief on Stephanie's face. She took a deep breath, bringing one hand up to rest on his, still supporting her shoulder.

"Thank you," she whispered. Her wet hair clung to her face and neck, and Jason brushed it away, rubbing her back gently with his other hand. Steph looked up at him, tears rolling down her face.

"You're okay," Jason said. "It's back in now."

"Thank you," Steph said again, and she wrapped the towel around her, closing her eyes. "Just give me a minute. Go check on the baby."

Jason did as he was told, checking the baby, who had settled into her crib, drooling and laying there quietly. He returned to the bathroom to find Steph leaning against the doorframe on her good shoulder, her eyes closed, towel wrapped tight around her body. She had her good hand on her bad shoulder, rubbing it gently, and after a moment she wiped her face and opened her eyes, looking at Jason with a serious expression.

"Jason," she said quietly, like this was something she didn't want to admit, "I think I need help."

"Of course," Jason replied, coming to stand by her side. "What do you need?"

"I don't think I can pull on my clothes with my shoulder like this," Steph said, looking down at her still-swollen shoulder, which, despite being put back into place, still ached like hell. "I'm gonna need your help to get dressed."

Jason followed her into their room, where she sat on the bed and sighed, closing her eyes. He paused, and then wandered over to his nightstand, pulling open the little drawer and digging around inside it for a moment. He triumphantly pulled out a little orange bottle and held it out to her.

"No," Steph said, staring down at it. "I'm not taking anything."

"Stephanie," Jason replied, exasperated. "You dislocated your fucking shoulder. Just do me a favour and take one, okay?"

Steph shook a pill out of the bottle and wrinkled her nose, popping it in her mouth and swallowing it dry. Jason shook his head and offered her the bottle of water he kept by the bed, and she accepted it, taking a swig and washing it down. Steph leaned back, still holding her shoulder, while Jason collected her clothes and stood in front of her, uncertain how to proceed.

"Close your eyes," Steph said. He did as he was told, and when he opened them again, she was sitting on the bed in her underwear, one arm covering her chest.

"Okay," Jason said, pulling out one of his tank tops, thinking it would be more comfortable for her. "Shirt first?"

Steph nodded, and he pulled it over her head, guiding her arms into it gently. Steph relaxed once it was on, sitting on the bed in the tank top and her underwear, closing her eyes and breathing deep.

"I think I can do the pants," she said, and Jason handed her leggings. She pulled them on slowly, careful not to jostle her shoulder too much, and once she was dressed she laid back, closing her eyes.

"I'm gonna stay here awhile," Steph said, bringing her good hand up to her shoulder and holding it gently. "I'm fine, Jason, honestly."

"If you're sure," Jason replied, more than a little awkward. He sat gingerly on the edge of the bed, looking down at her. "The painkiller should kick in soon."

"Twenty minutes," Steph replied, with the voice of someone well versed in the absorption time of different kinds of pain relief. She would be, Jason supposed. He nodded, and got up, heading back out to the lounge room, where Angel was snoozing quietly in the crib. Her bottle had gone cold, so he tipped it out, letting the milk wash down the drain. Steph wandered in a few minutes later, her eyes glassy.

"Okay," she said quietly. "I was wrong about that pill. It only took ten minutes."

"Because you haven't eaten anything," Jason realised, moving to the fridge and pulling it open. He pulled out some leftover pasta and heated it up in the microwave, watching as Steph collapsed onto the couch with a groan. She rolled onto her back and rubbed her shoulder, staring at the ceiling.

"Up," Jason said, walking over with the bowl in his hands. "You need to eat."

"I'm not hungry," Steph said, and Jason, being stubborn, stabbed a piece of pasta with the fork and held it out to her. She clamped her mouth shut, because she was equally stubborn, but he persisted, holding it in front of her face until she bit it off the fork.

"I forgot how good your pasta is," Steph said. "Somehow it's better today than it was last night."

"Yeah, well." Jason put more pasta on the fork and held it out to her again. This time she accepted it off him, shovelling the food into her mouth without complaint. "I try. Cooking was something I liked doing."

"You can tell," Steph said. "Your food tastes like it was made with love."

"Okay," Jason laughed, looking at her pinned pupils closely. "Apparently painkiller Steph is corny as hell."

"Drunk Jason called me his best friend, so I think I get to be corny as hell," Steph deadpanned. Jason shook his head, smiling, and stole the fork for a second to take a bite of the pasta himself. They sat there, sharing the bowl of pasta until it was empty, and Jason sat it on the coffee table, leaning back into the couch. Steph followed suit, one hand still resting on her shoulder. She burrowed her head into the couch cushion, staring up at him and sighing. They stayed like that, just quietly watching each other, the hint of a smile on Jason's face.

"Why are you smiling at me?" Steph asked, her voice soft.

"I'm not," Jason said, but he was. He couldn't help it. He couldn't help himself but to smile whenever he saw Steph - it was a reflex at this point. 

"You are," Steph said, a smile crossing her own face. She didn't know if it was the drugs or not, but she felt so soft looking at Jason, she just wanted to reach out and touch his face, run her fingers through his hair. She stopped herself, though. She knew that wouldn't end well, because even if - and it was a pretty big if, because she still wasn't sure - even if she liked Jason, there was almost no way in hell he liked her back.

She couldn't have been more wrong, but she wasn't to know that.

"How does your shoulder feel?" Jason asked.

"Hurts less," Steph said. "The pill helped. Thank you for putting it back in."

"It's not the first shoulder I've had to relocate," Jason said. "Once Dick did a handspring and for some reason - I can't remember why - his arm just fell out from underneath him, and he hit his shoulder on the ground. He used a few words that made Bruce absolutely furious, and we had to work together to put it back in. That was the first time I'd ever done it."

"Mm," Steph said, closing her eyes. "The first time I dislocated it was when I was thirteen. My dad was really mad at me for some reason, I can't remember why, and he grabbed my arm and pulled and - well."

Steph fell silent, opening her eyes and looking at Jason again, expecting to see pity or judgement on his face. But instead, there was a fire in his eyes, a hot rage at the things that were long past, at things that Stephanie didn't even think about any more. She sighed, and her hands dropped into her lap, her shoulder no longer feeling like she needed to hold onto hit for fear it might break. Jason was quiet as he looked at her, his mouth set into a hard, thin line.

"Did your mom do anything?" he asked. Steph shook her head.

"She never even knew," Steph replied. "He popped it back in before she got home."

"You never told her?" Jason asked, quiet. Steph pursed her lips, thinking for a moment, her mind a haze.

"There was no point," she said eventually. "I like to think she would have believed me, but I don't know. I don't know."

Steph fell silent, deep in thought. Her childhood was something that she had a complicated relationship with - as was her mother. She loved her, and knew that she had done the best she could at the time, but the best she could had not been anywhere near good enough. It was something she had come to terms with, as an adult. They had a good relationship now. Well, better, at least. There had been a time where they'd been fraught, where Crystal hadn't listened to Steph or taken her word, where she had still been caught up in Arthur's charms. Steph had hated that. But they were good now. Better. That was all they could strive to be. 

"We should put your arm in a sling," Jason said, sitting up. "Immobilise your arm so you don't hurt it."

"I don't think that's necessary," Steph said, but Jason ignored her, getting up to hunt down the first aid kit. They kept it in the linen closet, behind the towels. It was a remarkably well-stocked first aid kit for a newlywed's apartment, but for two vigilantes, it was pretty low-end - it had the usual first aid kit items stocked in it, along with a suture kit, slings, bandages, all manner of antiseptic wipes and lotions. Jason pulled it out, pushing the towels aside, and carried it over to the coffee table, putting it down. He dug through it for a minute, setting aside band aids and butterfly closures, bandages and gauze until he pulled out the sling. He put it over Steph's arm and affixed it so her arm sat at a more comfortable angle, taking the pressure off her shoulder. Steph groaned, tugging at it, but didn't protest too heavily. There came the sound of crying from the crib, and they both looked up, surprised. Steph looked at Jason and wordlessly pointed to her fucked shoulder, so he walked over to the crib, reaching inside and pulling the baby out, nursing her in his arms gently as she sobbed.

"Hey, hey," he whispered, holding her up and resting her head against his chest so she could hear his heartbeat, "Don't cry, Angel. It's okay."

Steph watched him rock the baby in his arms with a smile on his face, and pressed her lips together, looking down to the floorboards and exhaling slowly. Jason was so good with the baby - so gentle, so kind. Full of a soft love she hadn't known he was capable of. He took care of her without protest, just because he could, and he was so good with her it made Stephanie ache inside, because she felt he had some kind of baby superpower she didn't seem to possess. Steph didn't find she was a natural in the way Jason was - but Jason seemed to be a natural at just about everything, whereas Steph had worked and trained all her life to be half as good. It wasn't frustrating, exactly, but it made her feel less capable.

Jason, of course, if she had voiced these thoughts aloud, would have disagreed vehemently. He had watched Stephanie soothe the baby after she woke crying, watched her feed the baby a bottle, watched as she burped the baby and held her in her arms with such love in her eyes he couldn't fathom how someone could care so much. He had seen Stephanie with this child, and he thought she would know how excellent she was at it - the same excellence he'd seen her bring to everything. Things may not have come as easily to Stephanie, and yes, she had to work to achieve them, but that just made her all that much better. Her determination and courage at every situation had made her brilliant, and it was part of the reason Jason personally thought she was the best Batgirl. Barbara had her strengths, and Cassandra had hers, but Steph brought a humanity to the cowl Jason had never seen before. Steph was wholeheartedly good in all that she did - there was no doubt about it, in his mind. 

Jason made soothing noises at the baby in his arms, rubbing her back, before he realised she needed a diaper change. He pulled a face, and Steph caught the look, cackling to herself.

"It's your turn," she said, laughing at him. "And I can't do it, anyway."

"I know," Jason mumbled, carrying the baby to the bathroom. Steph stayed on the couch, enjoying the light haze the painkillers had brought over her. Her shoulder still ached something fierce, but it had dulled down, almost unnoticeable compared to some of the injuries she'd had in the past. She remembered when she'd broken three ribs - now that had hurt, and it had only been a couple of months beforehand, too. She knew she should go see Leslie, at the very least, and get her shoulder checked out, but that felt a little embarrassing. It wasn't like she'd been fighting and outnumbered by Romano family goons - she had literally slipped and fallen in the shower, and dislocated it on the edge of the bathtub. It was such a civilian injury. It really was embarrassing. She resolved not to tell anyone if she could help it, or lie and say it had happened on patrol. She was a klutz sometimes, but this was too much.

"All done," Jason said, returning with Angel is his arms. She giggled and whacked him on the head, kicking her legs furiously. Steph smiled at the two of them as he wandered back over and sat down next to her, the baby still in his arms. She smiled and reached for Steph, grasping at the air in front of her over and over, trying to squirm her way out of Jason’s grasp.

“No,” Steph said, reaching out and booping her on the nose. She giggled again and looked up at Jason, clapping her hands together. He shifted her weight so she was sitting up comfortably in his arms. The baby looked between the two of them, still reaching for Steph, and made a couple of noises with her mouth, more nonsensical words without meaning.

Jason's phone dinged from the coffee table and they all turned to look at it, Jason, Steph, and the baby. The baby waved her fist at it and tried to kick Jason in the ribs, but he managed to juggle her into his other arm, reaching out for his phone. He picked it up and unlocked it, scrolling through until he'd opened his messages app, and tapping the unread message. He read it and frowned, closing his eyes with a sigh.

"What's wrong?" Steph asked, as Jason locked his phone again and slid it into his pocket.

"That," he said, "Was our official invite to the Wayne Family Thanksgiving."

"Oh," was all Steph had to say to that. She was silent a few moments, thinking it out, and then eventually said, "I can't go. I have to do Thanksgiving with my mom."

"I don't want to go," Jason said, twisting his wedding band with his thumb of the same hand. "If I had a choice, I wouldn't go."

"Why don't you have a choice?" Steph asked quietly, reaching out to still his hand. The baby, delighted, grabbed onto her outstretched fingers and gripped them tight.

"Because....if I don't go, Bruce will be disappointed." Jason's voice dropped low, and he didn't quite meet Stephanie's eye, ashamed to admit it out loud, that he cared so much.

"It wouldn't be the first time you've disappointed Bruce," Steph said. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to, Jason." 

"I know," Jason replied, the mood suddenly turned pensive by one innocent text from Cassandra. It was always Cass, for some reason. They always sent Cass to him first - maybe because he'd never tried to kill her. Maybe because she understood him best, out of all his siblings, even if they had some fundamental differences of opinion. Cass served as the peacekeeper, because it was never Dick or Tim who called him about family things - it was always Cass.

"Hey," Jason said, perking up. "What if I come with you to your mom's place for Thanksgiving?"

"Sure," Steph said, a smile blossoming across her face. "Why not? It'll be fun."

"I can make something, too. Show your mom I'm a good cook."

"She'd like that," Steph replied, still smiling. Jason looked down, a tinge of pink flushing across his cheeks as he grinned. He liked the idea of cooking something for Steph and her mom. He was going to make it something real good.

"So are you gonna tell Cass you're spending Thanksgiving with your wife?" Steph asked. Jason laughed.

"How'd you know it was Cass?" he asked.

"It's always Cass," Steph said, reaching up to rub her shoulder. Angel had settled down in Jason's arms and was leaning against his shoulder, her cheek against his, her eyes drifting shut. Jason got up, slowly, quietly, and carried her over to her crib, lowering her inside with one hand supporting her head. He laid her down gently and crept back to the couch, dropping down beside Stephanie with a tired smile. He pulled out his phone and messaged Cass back, telling her in simple words that he would not be making it to thanksgiving because he was spending the day with Stephanie. She was quick to reply, with an enthusiastic _okay!_ and a smiley face, followed by a quick, _I'll let Bruce know_.

Jason smiled. He could always trust his sister to have his back.

"So," he said, settling in beside Stephanie, grabbing the television remote and flicking on a movie. "Thanksgiving, huh?"

"Thanksgiving," Steph agreed, leaning into his shoulder and turning her attention onto the television. He looked down at her with a smile, and turned the volume up.


	14. Chapter 14

There was the rhythmic sound of the knife hitting the chopping board over and over as Stephanie watched Jason slice potatoes. He did it like it was an art, with deft movements and quick slicing, turning a whole potato into thin portions in a matter of seconds. He did it to four potatoes and then stepped aside, pulling out a baking dish and layering them inside, until he'd gotten them laid out perfectly. He set about adding sour cream and cream, chives, bacon, parsley and garlic, mixing it through and pouring it over each slice generously. He pulled out the grater and started grating cheese to add on top, something with a fancy Italian name Steph hadn't heard of before. He did all of this with the utmost care, creating the perfect dish of potato bake.

It was the third one he'd made so far.

"Try this," he'd say, shoving a forkful of creamy potatoes at her, and she'd take the mouthful, eat it, and tell him it was brilliant. "You're right," he'd say, distracted, "It needs more bacon."

And then he'd take off again, starting from scratch, desperate to cook the perfect dish. He was also on his fourth pumpkin pie, having discounted the first one ("Too dry!"), the second ("Too creamy!"), and the third - "Too  _ something! _ " Their kitchen looked like a culinary-shaped bomb had hit it, and Steph, for the most part, was sitting back and enjoying the show, because it got her more of Jason's excellent cooking (always a bonus) and it kept Jason distracted from his anxiety, which was: he was meeting Crystal Brown for the first time today. 

Jason didn't know why the thought of meeting Stephanie's mom had made him so nervous., but it had. He was desperate to impress her, to please her, to show her that her daughter hadn't fucked up completely when she'd married a total shitshow like him. And sure - the marriage was fake. He kept telling himself that, that the marriage was fake. But Crystal Brown didn't know that, neither did most of Gotham, and knowing that did not take away from his extreme anxiety about meeting his mother-in-law, Steph and the baby in tow.

"Okay," Jason said finally, slamming the oven closed, "I think that's the one. I can't make a potato bake any more perfect than that."

"Are you sure?" Steph teased, but she immediately dropped it when she saw the genuine fear and panic in his eyes. "Jason, I'm joking. Everything you've made so far has been beautiful. Please stop panicking."

"I'm not panicking," Jason lied, but he was absolutely panicking. The Red Hood, scourge of the underworld, feared by criminals and heroes alike - and he was afraid of a little Thanksgiving dinner with a woman that was technically now a part of his family.

Perhaps that was what he was most afraid of. The notion that by doing this with Stephanie, he had gained even more in family he didn't want - and yet, secretly, he did. It was a conundrum for Jason Todd, but it was one he wasn't going to think about too hard, for fear he might just go lay face down under the dining room table and never get back up.

Stephanie had gotten dressed already, in a lilac dress, black stockings, and black flats, her hair held back with a purple headband. Her makeup was done modestly, and she was wearing the locket out of her jewellery box - one he'd since learned had been given to her by her grandmother, long ago. It was one of the few things, she said, her father had never managed to hock, and she clung onto it that much more dearly because of it. Steph had also gotten him out clothing to wear - a pair of black jeans and a red button-down shirt Jason hadn't even known he'd owned. Where she had unearthed it from, he didn't know, but it was hanging up off the linen closet door, waiting for Jason to slip out of his singlet and into it instead. He was wearing his boots, because they were sturdy things that could last just about anything, including a full day in the kitchen, and his leather jacket was slung over one of the dining room chairs. Jason stepped back, away from his creations, and started getting dressed, right there in the middle of their living space. Stephanie rolled her eyes and went back to texting with Cass and Babs on her phone, each of the three women discussing their Thanksgiving celebrations, a yearly tradition that had started not long after Steph had become Batgirl. This year, Cass and Babs were absolutely charmed by the mess that was Jason Todd, Human Disaster, and Steph had been enjoying photos from the Wayne family all morning, including one of Cass and Damian she sort of wanted to print out and stick on her wall. Two of her favourite people, Cass grinning at the camera, Damian scowling at being forced to take a photo. It was such a quintessentially Damian image that when she'd opened it, Steph had to stop herself from cackling out loud. 

"Do I need a tie?" Jason asked, buttoning up his shirt. Steph snorted, looking him up and down.

"No, you big goofball, you don't need a tie. She's my mom, Jason, she doesn't bite."

"I'm not so sure about that," Jason mumbled, but he pulled on his leather jacket and disappeared into the bathroom, running a comb through his dishevelled hair. He didn't look half bad, if he could say so himself, standing there in his red button-down and leather jacket, his blue eyes for once not framed by dark circles. He'd been sleeping better lately - a lot better. He wasn't sure why, but something about Stephanie made him feel safe of a night time, like he could relax into his bed and just drift off to sleep, not a care in the world, and not dream of crowbars or glowing green, of water that choked and the endless sound of laughter. He shook his head at his reflection and came back out to the kitchen, where Steph was waiting patiently, still typing on her phone.

There was a cry from the crib and Jason startled, looking over to Steph for help. She put her phone down and wandered over to the crib, a look of concern on her face. Angel's face was screwed up as she let out a plaintive wail, her hands curled into fists, her face tearstained already. Steph reached in and cupped her cheek with one hand, hoping the gesture would soothe her, but the baby just cried louder, waving her fists furiously. Steph looked up at Jason, alarmed, and reached into the crib with her good arm to scoop the baby up. She had taken the sling off two days beforehand, and her shoulder still hurt, but since the swelling had gone down it hurt a lot less. It wasn't enough to stop her from going on patrol, which she had done the night before, leaving Jason alone with the baby. He had been terrified, because the two of them thus far had faced every baby-related task together, and she had left him for four hours at least. She had come home to find the baby fast asleep in her crib and Jason snoring on the couch, bottle still in hand. The thought of it made her smile, but there were more pressing issues at hand, like the baby sobbing her heart out.

"It's okay," Steph soothed her, rocking her gently, but it did little to alleviate the crying. Jason walked over and tickled Angel's back, something they'd realised calmed her down, but she ignored him and kept on wailing, hiccupping occasionally.

"She only had a bottle an hour ago," Jason said, frowning. "And we burped her, so that can't be it."

"Maybe her stomach is upset?" Steph said, holding the baby back to look at her face carefully. One of her cheeks was puffy, and when Steph reached out to feel it, it was hot to the touch. Steph frowned, because she was no expert in babies, but didn't that usually mean - "I think she might be teething."

"No way, she's tiny," Jason said. "When do babies get teeth?"

"I don't know," Steph replied, feeling very out of her depth. She grabbed a pacifier off the coffee table and held it to Angel's mouth. To her relief, the baby took it, settling down after a couple of minutes, but she was still fussy. Steph handed her over to Jason, who took her into his arms with a soft "hup!", and wandered around the apartment packing the diaper bag with everything they'd need while they were out. A bottle, spare pacifier, diapers, a change of outfit, the baby wipes - Steph was reasonably sure she'd grabbed it all. She turned back to face Jason and Angel, and smiled when she realised Jason was humming a lullaby. He'd started doing that a lot - sometimes he'd sing soft rock songs under his breath, when he thought Steph wasn't listening. She loved the quality of his voice, the rough cadence, the way he carried a tune. It just made her feel more endeared to him, but she couldn't quite put her finger on the why.

"I think that's everything," Steph said, zipping the bag shut. Jason grinned at her, rubbing the baby's back in slow, soothing circles, as she laid her head against his chest. She'd stopped crying, but she still looked absolutely miserable, sucking on her pacifier sullenly.

"Do you want to take the food or the baby?" Jason asked. Steph held her arms out, and he delivered the baby into them carefully, smiling to himself. He made his way to the kitchen, where the potato bake had been cooling on the counter beside the pumpkin pie, and pulled out a roll of aluminium foil, covering the dishes up. He piled them one on top of the other and bundled them into his arms, swiping his keys from the hallway table as they made their way outside. It was a quiet ride on the elevator, the two of them standing there with all manner of things between them, but they made it down to the parking garage without incident. 

Neither of them had realised it at the time, but Alfred had left them with a carseat, too, already secured in the Audi so the baby could safely travel. It hadn't been used much - neither of them liked leaving the house with the baby, if they could help it - but today, Thanksgiving, they were left with few other options. It wasn't like they could just hire anybody to babysit the kid; neither of them trusted anybody outside the family, and even then, everybody was busy with their own Thanksgiving plans. They had no choice but to bring the baby with them, so that's what they were doing. 

Steph buckled the baby in securely, checking the straps to make sure they weren't too snug, and then climbed into the passenger seat, where she took the food from Jason so he could drive. She balanced the dishes on her knees as she buckled herself in and looked over to Jason, who was concentrating on driving. It didn't take them all that long to drive out to the suburbs where Steph's mom lived - it was just half an hour away, and there was blessedly little in the way of traffic, everyone being at home with their families. They pulled into the driveway and Jason parked, and they sat there for a moment in silence, staring at the front door, which was already festooned with a festive wreath. 

Jason twisted his wedding ring, and looked at Steph from the corner of his eye, where she was giving him an encouraging smile.

"I don't know if I can do this," Jason said.

"What are you so nervous for? It's going to be fine," Steph laughed. "She's my mom, Jason. She's totally normal and kind of a badass. Just be cool and she'll be cool."

"Right," Jason replied.

"And don't talk about vigilante stuff, because it drives her nuts," Steph added. "Also, I'm pretty sure she doesn't know I'm Batgirl, and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Got it," Jason said, unbuckling his seatbelt. "Let's get this over with."

"That's the spirit," Steph said, handing him back the dishes, unbuckling her own seatbelt. She walked around to the back of the car and leaned inside to get Angel, who had fallen into an uneasy sleep in the carseat. Steph was just grateful she'd stopped crying.

She fussed for a few seconds at being awoken, but settled down quickly, staring up at Steph with her wide eyes. Steph shouldered the diaper bag, wincing as it pulled on her still-sore shoulder joint, and walked up the front steps onto the porch. Jason trailed behind her, holding the foil-wrapped dishes and shuffling his feet nervously, wishing his hands weren't full so he could fidget with his ring. They both hesitated at the door, and Steph reached up and knocked, waiting patiently.

The door swung open, revealing Crystal Brown, standing there in a grey sweater and dark slacks. She smiled at both of them, grinned really, and stepped aside, ushering them inside.

"Who's this little bundle of sunshine?" she asked, tickling Angel's toes. The baby squirmed and frowned, clinging onto Steph tightly. "Is there something you haven't told me, Steph?"

"No, no," Steph replied, letting the diaper bag slide off her shoulder onto the living room floor by the couch. "This is Angel. We're looking after her while her parents are away."

The lie flowed easily off her tongue, and Jason looked at her, surprised. But, he supposed, Steph had been Robin at fifteen. Lying to her family - especially about vigilante related things, which Angel sort of counted as - must have been second nature to her by now.

"And this must be Jason," Crystal said, pulling him into a one-armed, awkward hug. Jason blinked, surprised, but was unable to reciprocate due to the food in his hands. Instead, he settled for holding up the dishes, looking at her awkwardly and saying, "I made a potato bake, and some pie," which Crystal grinned at.

"Follow me," she said, bustling away into the kitchen. Jason glanced at Steph, who gave him an encouraging nod, so he followed her, making his way through the house and down the hall to the right, where he found a cramped little kitchen. Crystal took both the pie and the potato bake from him, sliding the top dish into the oven to heat, where the turkey was roasting away. The smell coming from inside was delicious, and Jason's stomach rumbled, reminding him that breakfast had been a few hours ago.

"Steph," Crystal called out, checking on the turkey, "Can you set the table, please?"

"Yeah, sure." Steph appeared in the doorway, sleepy baby still in her arms. She held her out to Jason, who accepted her gratefully, and started pulling knives and forks out of the drying rack by the sink. She grabbed down three matching plates and carried it all out to the dining table, which was in a tiny room just off the kitchen. The Brown house was small, a little cramped, but Jason could feel the love in it. There were photos of Steph over the walls, at every age; photos from family outings and birthday parties, photos of Steph with an older woman Jason could only assume was her grandmother; photos of Steph that could only be school photos, taken on grey backgrounds with an awkwardly grinning Stephanie front and centre. Jason smirked at the one of Steph - no older than thirteen - with braces on her teeth, and a cropped blonde fringe that made her look simultaneously thirteen and thirty.

"Do not say a word," Steph said, when she caught him looking at it. "I was young, okay? Fashion was not my strong suit then."

"Your  _ hair _ ," Jason replied gleefully. Honestly, looking through the photos, some of Stephanie's hair choices over the years left a lot to be desired. He was glad she'd grown it out. It looked much cuter when it was long.

"Shut up," Steph laughed, setting the plates down on the table and adding the cutlery by them. Angel fussed in Jason's arms, reaching for Steph, so the moment she was done Steph took her back, rocking her gently and humming, taking a page out of Jason's book. The baby screwed up her face again and let out a cry, and Steph sighed, because it seemed it was time for her to cry again.

"Oh, what's wrong, pumpkin?" Crystal leaned over to get a look at the baby, with her wrinkled face and tears. "When was the last time you fed her?"

"Not long before we left," Steph said, supporting Angel's head as she moved her from one arm to the other. "We think she might be teething."

"Oh, poor thing," Crystal said, taking a closer look at her mouth and running her thumb along the baby's cheek. She tutted and turned back to her kitchen cupboards, digging through one of them until she had pulled something free from the clutter inside. "Here, try this."

"What is it?" Steph asked, turning the tube over in her hands. 

"Teething gel," Crystal replied. "Don't worry, it's not the same one I used for you, I haven't held onto it for all these years. The neighbour's kid was teething a couple of months ago and I brought them a couple of tubes. I forgot to give them one, though. Found it in the bottom of a shopping bag last week, so I put it in the cupboard. Good thing, too. I almost just threw it out."

"Here, let me," Jason said, unscrewing the cap and squeezing a little of the gel onto his fingers. He lightly rubbed it into the baby's inflamed gums, letting it absorb in. She cried louder, shrieking and kicking her feet, but when he stepped back she quietened down, a little. Steph and Jason shared a relieved look, and Jason went back out to the car to grab the baby capsule, so Angel would have somewhere to sleep now that she'd settled down.

"There we go," Steph said, slipping Angel inside. The baby fussed for a moment, stretching out her legs, and then settled into a comfortable position, her eyes drifting shut so she could finish the nap she'd started in the car. Steph tickled her feet, smiling, and left the capsule sitting on one end of the dining room table, where they could keep an eye on her. 

"Food should be ready," Crystal said, pulling the turkey from the oven, her hands covered by thick oven mitts that had a festive autumnal pattern on them. Steph set about helping her mother serve the food up, carrying plates and dishes out to the table, resting the hot trays on the wooden breadboards that had been a part of the dinner set up as long as she could remember. Jason followed, unsure of what to do, and was waved off by both women, told to sit down and start carving the turkey if he wanted something to do so bad. Jason obliged, taking the knife Stephanie handed him and heading into the dining room, taking a seat and leaning forward over the bird. He started carving the meat easily, with little trouble, remembering all the times Alfred had instructed him in this very action, and he watched as Stephanie and Crystal joined them, chatting quietly and smiling at each other.

"Turkey, please," Steph said, holding up her plate. Jason dropped a slice on it and speared another, putting it on Crystal's plate.

"Thank you, Jason," Crystal said, reaching for the dish of potato bake, a large spoon ready to scoop it out onto her plate.

Jason grabbed a bread roll off a nearby platter and, without thinking, handed it to Steph, grabbing one for himself afterwards. Smiling, Crystal grabbed her own, watching as Jason and Steph, so in tune with each other, passed food across the table and served it onto each other's plates. They did it without thinking - it was clear they had gotten into a routine where they did this for each other, every day. Seeing Stephanie so easy with someone made Crystal happy, so she didn't say a word, passing the butter over the table to Jason.

"What are we all thankful for?" Crystal asked. Jason paused, his bread roll halfway to his mouth, and put it back down, looking down. Steph looked between him and her mother, and said, "I'll go first. This year I'm thankful for my family, who give me so much love every day, and for my friends, who have supported me through everything."

"That's wonderful," Crystal said. "Jason?"

"Uh," Jason said, looking between the two women, casting a glance over to the baby in hopes she might cry and save him, "I'm - I guess I'm really just thankful for one thing. Steph."

"Really?" Steph asked, surprised.

"Yeah," Jason said, suddenly earnest. "You brought so much joy into my life, I didn't know - I didn't know things could be this good. And you've helped me sort things out with my family, and you help me with - uh - work, and just. Yeah. I'm thankful for you."

"I'm thankful for you, too," Stephanie said, resisting the urge to reach across the table and grab his hand to give it a squeeze. Jason looked down, a pink tinge colouring his cheeks, his dark hair falling into his eyes. Crystal smiled, looking between the two of them, her daughter and her daughter's husband, and personally thought they were like a pair of lovestruck teenagers, but she said nothing about it, deciding to spare them the embarrassment.

"I'm thankful I get to share a meal with my beautiful daughter," she said, pinching Steph's cheek, "And the lovely young man she's brought home."

"Mom," Steph said, exasperated, but the three of them shared smiles around the table, and they started eating. Dinner conversation was a quiet but ultimately joyous thing, with plenty of laughter all round, and even Angel, when she woke up, joined in, giggling from her perch in the baby capsule, where she was sitting up just enough to see them all. Jason got up to clear away the plates when everything was done, placing them in the sink and pouring water over them to rinse each one off. Crystal brought in the leftovers, stacking them in the fridge carefully, and she and Jason shared a smile as Jason began doing the dishes.

"You don't need to do that," she said, grabbing a tea towel to help him by drying, but he waved her off.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "Go spend some time with Steph. I'll take care of it."

Crystal joined Stephanie back at the dining room table, where Steph was looking at Angel with a smile on her face. She sat down beside her daughter, and, dropping her voice conspiratorially, she said, "You picked a good one."

"Mom," Steph said, rolling her eyes. But it was true, she thought. Jason was a good one.

They stayed there, talking quietly, as Angel started to whine again. Steph checked the time on her phone and got up, wandering back to the living room to pull out a bottle from the diaper bag. She slipped it into the microwave and leaned up against the fridge, waiting patiently, as Jason dried the last of the dishes and stacked them neatly on the counter. When the microwave beeped, she pulled the bottle out and dropped a few drops of milk on her wrist, and, satisfied it was the right temperature, she went back into the dining room, where her mother was rocking the baby in her arms.

“I’m just going outside for a smoke,” Jason said quietly, and Steph nodded, taking Angel from her mother and sitting down to feed her, propping up her head on the crook of her elbow so she could lay comfortably and drink. Jason made his way out the front, leaving Steph and her mother with the baby, feeling awkward and out of touch and like he didn’t quite fit. He wasn’t good at this - at this whole family thing. Never had been. It was why his relationship with the Waynes was such a failure.

Jason stood out on the porch, staring out at the street. It was empty, no cars except those parked in the driveways, no people, no life whatsoever. However, there was the warm glow of lights from each home, the signs of life. He could see a menorah in a window, the silhouettes of people moving around inside. He sighed and reached into the pocket of his leather jacket, pulling free his cigarette packet and flicking it open, bringing it up to his mouth so he could pull one out, pursing it between his lips. He tucked it back away, pulling out his lighter and flicking it a couple of times until a clear little spark of orange flame came up, and he held it to the end of his cigarette, lighting it carefully. He shoved the lighter back in his pocket and took a drag, pulling it out of his mouth and blowing smoke out of his mouth, sighing again as he leaned up against the porch railing and watched the other houses in the street.

"Smoking will kill you, boy," Crystal said, stepping outside. She came to stand beside him, leaning up against the railing, resting against her forearms.

"You sound like your daughter," Jason said, taking another drag. "You want one?"

"No, I think I'm long done with that particular habit," Crystal smiled at him. "I appreciate the offer, though."

Jason nodded, and then shrugged. "Seemed the polite thing to do."

"You're a gentleman," Crystal said, smiling. "That makes me happy. Stephanie deserves a good man."

"I try," Jason replied, hesitating for just a moment. He knew Stephanie deserved a good guy - too bad he wasn't one.

"I just came out here to let you know," Crystal said, looking out over the street, a serene smile on her face, "If you hurt my daughter, I'll kill you."

That startled a laugh out of Jason, and he took another drag from his cigarette, glancing sideways at her so he could see the deadly serious steel in her eyes. She meant it, which somehow didn't surprise him at all.

"I don't think you have to worry about that," Jason said. "I think if I hurt her, she'll kill me herself."

"That's true," Crystal conceded, nodding. "But she shouldn't have to, so I'll do it if I need to."

"Fair enough," Jason replied. "But for the record, you raised a hell of a woman."

"I know I did," Crystal said. "She's one tough little cookie, our Steph."

"She sure is," Jason replied, flicking the butt of his cigarette out into the garden. Crystal gave him a gentle smack on the back of the head, and he gave her a sheepish grin. "Sorry, Mrs Brown."

"Call me Crystal, Jason, please," Crystal said. "Mrs Brown makes me sound positively ancient, and I am your mother-in-law. That makes you a part of the family."

Family, Jason thought, looking at her, and then glancing inside, thinking of Steph. It wasn't something he'd even thought he would have in any meaningful way. But these past few weeks with Steph had shown him that maybe he could - maybe he could make a family for himself, out of people who understood him. He had Dick, Tim, Damian, Cassandra, Bruce. They would always love him. It was a given. But now, he also had Steph, and it had snuck up on him and surprised him so much he didn't know what to make of it.

"What are we talking about?" Steph stepped out the front door with the baby in her arms, looking between the two of them like one of them might give up the answers. Jason cast a glance at Crystal, though, and saw she was tight-lipped and smiling, so he followed her lead and said "Nothing, Steph. Is Angel okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine," Steph said, stepping onto the porch. "Just a bit whiny, is all. She's settled down now, though."

"Good," Jason said, relieved that she was no longer crying. It had been a couple of days now where Angel had been getting into moods where she'd cry and nothing could settle her down. He was starting to think Steph was right - she must have been teething.

"We should get going," Steph said, holding Angel up against her chest, where the baby snuggled in close, feeling Steph's warmth. "Hit the road while the baby's still calm."

"Yeah, that's not a bad idea," Jason said.

"Going so soon?" Crystal asked. There was a smile on her face, though, so they both knew she wasn't offended by it.

"We'll be back to see you soon," Steph promised, passing the baby over to Jason so she could embrace her mother in a tight, but brief, hug.

On the way home, Angel roused from her sleep with a whine, and then, within moments, was full-on crying again. It broke Steph's heart, it did, so when they were stopped at the traffic lights she climbed over the seats and into the back, settling in beside the car seat and buckling herself in quickly. She gave Angel one of her hands, and the baby gripped onto it like a vice, still wailing. Jason glanced up into the rear view mirror, watching both of them in the reflection, and remained focused on driving, because they were only a few blocks from home, at this point.

"Jason, wait," Steph said, as Jason pulled to a stop at an intersection, waiting for the other line of traffic to go first. "I think she's burning up."

She had one hand still held onto by the baby, and the other pressing cool skin against Angel's face, feeling it slowly. Her cheeks, especially, were hot to the touch, the skin burning under Stephanie's feather light touch. Jason swore under his breath and pulled up beside a pharmacy, leaving the engine running while he ducked inside.

He stared down the aisles at rows and rows of medicines that claimed to bring down fever, relieve pain, and soothe ailments, and discovered that he had absolutely no clue what the fuck he was doing.

"Do you need a hand, sir?" A woman in a neat uniform and white coat asked him from over the counter, and he turned to look at her, wild-eyed. He gestured wordlessly to the medications in a universal cry for help, and she offered him a smile, stepping around from behind the counter and walking over.

"The baby," Jason said, looking over the boxes uncertainly, "She's teething, we think. Her mouth is swollen and her gums hurt, and she's been crying for two days, and my wife just checked on her and we think she's burning up, but neither of us are sure because we don't have a thermometer, and-"

"Woah, easy there," the pharmacist held her hands up, laughing. She had a collection of piercings running down the cartilage of her left ear, and her hair was buzzed short, with a longer section on top that fell in her eyes. "First time dad, right?"

"Yes, ma'am," Jason replied. There was no way he could explain the whole situation to this unassuming pharmacist in the next, oh, five minutes, so he left it at that.

"How old is she?" The pharmacist asked.

"Um," Jason said, realising that was information a dad should know. "Six months."

"Right," the pharmacist replied, steering him away from the selection of boxes that all said TODDLER on them in bright, colourful letters. "How much does she weigh?"

"Um," Jason thought to how she felt in his arms. "Fifteen pounds, I think? Give or take a pound or two."

The pharmacist was giving him an odd look, like she personally thought Jason was absolutely hopeless, but she didn't say anything, instead reaching for a box of Tylenol syrup that was helpfully labelled INFANTS. She read something on the back of the box, double checking something for herself, and then handed it to him.

"You and your wife have a doctor, right?"

"Yes," Jason said. "Dr Leslie Thompkins."

"Good," the pharmacist said, seemingly relieved that Jason wasn't completely useless. "Contact your doctor if her symptoms don't improve after a dose of this. You can't give it to her more than four times a day or you'll damage her liver. Space the doses out six hours apart. But it should bring down her fever and help with the teething pain. And please take her to the doctor if the fever is over one hundred - do you need a thermometer?"

"Yes - yes, please," Jason said, looking up from the box in his hand. The pharmacist made her way over to the thermometers and picked one up, handing it over to him. Jason looked over it, too, and was relieved to find it was the forehead kind.

"Do you have any other questions?" she asked, taking him to the counter so she could ring up the two items.

"No - um - no, I don't think so," Jason said, feeling overwhelmed and a little out of his depth. He was stressed about the baby. He really did not want the baby to be sick, because she wasn't even their baby, and he didn't want to be making medical decisions for a baby he was not the parent of. "So we should take her to the doctor if the fever gets over one hundred?"

"Yes," the pharmacist replied, handing him a bag with the items inside. "Good luck."

"Thank you," Jason replied, turning on his heel and walking back out to the waiting car.

He had only been gone a few minutes while he spoke to the pharmacist, and he returned quickly, tucking a paper bag into his pocket as he climbed back into the car. He turned around to look at Stephanie, her face full of worry, and pulled the paper bag back out, passing it over the seats to Steph. She opened it and found inside a little bottle of baby Tylenol, with a syringe to administer it with, and a thermometer. It was orange flavoured and - when Stephanie unscrewed the cap and took an experimental whiff - smelled disgusting, like oranges that had been coated in sugar and left to ferment in the sun for days. She read the dosage instructions, double checked with Jason, and then, not seeing any other options, stuck the syringe in Angel's mouth and pushed down the plunger.

Angel immediately attempted to spit it back out at her, poking out her tongue and pulling a face, wailing louder, but Stephanie was satisfied a decent amount of the medication had made it down her throat. The baby cried again, pushing Stephanie away and looking around for Jason with wide, tear-filled eyes, and Jason reached back and touched her forearm with one large, gentle hand.

"Please don't hate me," Steph said to her, looking down. "The pharmacist thinks this is going to help, and we don't know what else to do."

Angel did not seem to care about this logic, or any logic, really, but after a few minutes she stopped crying, having tired herself out. Steph put a little more of the teething gel over her inflamed gums and twisted the lid back on, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and sighing. They were still on the street outside the pharmacy; Jason hadn't started driving again just yet. He was waiting for something to happen - for Steph to either concede and take the baby out of her car seat, or for the baby to settle down and stop crying. So far, the Tylenol and teething gel seemed to be working wonders, and Angel settled once more, an unhappy look on her little face.

When they made it back to their building, Jason parked on the street, pulling in to the curb and killing the engine. Steph unbuckled Angel's restraints and picked her up, holding the baby against her chest and letting her snuggle into her warmth. The baby huffed, pulling at Stephanie's hair before tucking her head into the woman's shoulder. Steph felt the heat of her face against her skin and sighed, shifting the baby in her arms slightly so she could step out onto the street and wait for Jason. Jason walked around, keys already in hand, and stopped to absentmindedly rub the baby's back, sharing a worried look with Steph.

"Shit, I left my purse in the car," Steph said, looking around. Jason reached for the baby, and then paused, thinking that she looked comfortable in Steph's arms.

"I'll get it," he said, and he opened up the passenger door, pulling Stephanie's bag and phone free from the car. She watched as he shouldered the bag and tucked the phone into his jacket pocket, also thinking to grab the bag from the pharmacy while he was at it. The purple purse dangled off his shoulder, a bright spot of colour against his dark jacket and jeans.

They made their way upstairs, waiting patiently for the elevator. Angel was drooling on Steph's shoulder, her little mouth hanging open, her gums red and tender. Once they were inside, Steph gently lowered the baby into the crib, watching as she curled herself up and fell into an uneasy sleep, one fist against her face. Steph sighed, shaking her head, and looked over to Jason.

"What are we going to do?" she asked. Jason threw her the thermometer in reply.

"Check her temperature," he said. "The pharmacist said if it's over one hundred we should take her to Leslie."

"Alright," Steph said. She figured out the thermometer quickly, having used one similar in her days working under Leslie. She held it against the baby's forehead and waited for it to beep at her. She pulled it back and read the display, relief crossing her face.

"It's not a fever," she said, feeling palpable relief. She did not know what to do if this baby was sick. She, like Jason, felt completely out of her depth here. She was doing her best, but she was terrified of the idea that something might be wrong with the baby. The thought made anxiety crawl up her chest, gripping its claws tight around her heart and lungs, constricting everything until it felt like it was hard to breathe. She considered calling Babs and asking for - help, advice, anything the other woman might have to offer. But that totally wasn't necessary. The baby was fine. She was just teething, and babies teethe every day with no ill effects. It had to hurt, but she would get through it.

"I'm gonna go jump in the shower," Jason said, already unbuttoning his shirt, leather jacket abandoned somewhere in the kitchen. Steph nodded and flopped onto the couch, groaning and rubbing her forehead. Neither of them would be going on patrol tonight - Angel needed them to be here.

Steph remained on the couch, pensive. She pulled the elastic from her wrist and twisted her hair up into a loose bun, pulling it back from her face, and rubbed her temples again. She looked down at her dress and tights and decided she needed to be in something else. She got up, making her way to the laundry basket still sitting on the dining table, waiting to be folded and put away, and pulled out a pair of black tracksuit pants and a grey hoodie. She slipped out of the dress and pulled the hoodie on, and stood there for a moment, in nothing but her hoodie and stockings, lost in thought. Slowly, she got the stockings off, and pulled on the tracksuit pants, depositing the dirty clothes outside the bathroom door so she could drop them into the hamper inside when Jason was done. She could hear Jason singing in the shower, soft and slightly off-key, undoubtedly using the soap as his microphone. She smiled a tired smile to herself and made her way back to the couch, where she curled up, resting her chin on her knees and watching the crib in silence.

Steph was having doubts.

She knew they weren't parents, and this whole situation had served as a reminder of that. Neither of them knew what to do - neither of them seemed to ever know what to do when things started going wrong. Give her a riddle, a bomb to defuse, an irate mobster? For all those things, she was your girl. But for a baby? Not so much. Steph was broken out of her reverie by the appearance of Jason in the hall, dripping wet and covered only by a towel around his waist. The lines of his body, the deep v of his hips were all visible as he walked towards her, phone in hand. She'd seen Jason shirtless plenty now they lived together - but dripping wet, and leaving very little to the imagination? Yeah, that was something else entirely.

"Steph," Jason said, snapping her out of her thoughts. He held the phone out to her. "Your phone's ringing. It's Babs."

"Answer it," Steph said, leaning back into the couch. Jason fumbled with the phone for a moment before he answered it, bringing it up to his ear.

"Hello?" he said, and then, "Hold on, I'll put you on speaker."

"Answering each other's phones, now?" Barbara's voice rang through the apartment. "I'm calling about something important. Steph?"

"I'm here," Steph said, looking up at Jason. A bead of water was dripping its way down his face, running down the curve of his strong jawline. Similar drops were making their way down his abs, falling into the soft material of the towel he'd haphazardly wrapped around his hips. "I'm gonna go get some clothes on," Jason said.

He passed the phone over to Steph.

"Jason, wait," Barbara's voice said. "You can - did you say get dressed?"

"I was in the shower," Jason offered by way of explanation, knowing damn well it explained nothing at all. Babs fell silent for a moment, apparently thinking, and then said, laughter in her voice. "Okay."

"So I'm good to go?" Jason asked, pulling the towel tighter around his hips, somewhat self-consciously. Steph could see every scar that marred his skin from here. Despite them, he was beautiful.

"Just go get dressed. I'll talk to Steph," Babs replied. Jason shrugged, handing Steph the phone, and wandered his way back to the bedroom, swiping clean clothes off the basket sitting on the dining table on his way.

"What's this about, Babs?" Steph asked, tucking her knees beneath her body, resting her chin against the back of the lounge, watching the doorway as she waited for Jason to return.

"I want to discuss it when Jason gets back, because it concerns both of you...but Steph, someone at the Gazette is trying to run a story about you."

"A story?" Steph asked, sounding bored, because being married to Jason Todd meant the Gazette ran stories every time they so much as dared go grocery shopping. The Waynes were like Gotham's own Royal Family, though she doubted they'd get this much attention in any other city. Maybe if Bruce ran for president or something. She snorted. Yeah, right. Like that would ever happen.

"You're not going to like it," Babs warned, as Jason returned, dressed in grey sweatpants and a black tank top. He looked almost like Bruce, like that. He joined her on the couch, vaulting over the back of it and landing beside her with a soft thud.

"Okay, Jason's back," Steph said.

"Hi, Babs," Jason offered, leaning forward.

"Alright, so I need the two of you to know that first of all, I made sure the story wouldn't run. I contacted a lot of people to get it pulled, and I even had Bruce yell at someone, but nobody is going to run the story, as far as we can tell."

"Okay," Steph said, drawing the word out. She was getting a sinking feeling in her gut. She didn't like where this was going.

"Someone got photos of the two of you holding the baby in front of your building today," Babs said. Steph and Jason shared a look. They hadn't publicly announced they were, for lack of a better word, fostering a child, but they weren't exactly trying to hide it, either. They supposed it had just been sheer luck they'd never been caught in public with her so far.

"And," Steph could practically hear the wince in Barbara's tone, "They - the story brings up some parts of your past I don't think you want made public."

"Like what?" Steph croaked, her mouth suddenly bone-dry. She knew what. Of course she knew what. It had only been a matter of time before the Gazette had caught wind of her past as the daughter of a criminal, a junkie, the dirt poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks who'd made so many mistakes it was hard to keep count. She knew which mistake they'd found, but she didn't want to believe it.

"About your pregnancy," Babs finished, her voice barely masking her anger. "That you put your child up for adoption. They tried to insinuate you're - well - do you want to read the article for yourself?"

"No," Steph said, a wave of righteous fury washing her over. Jason had stiffened beside her, and when she looked over to him, she was surprised to find his fists clenched.

Steph didn't have to read the article to know what they were insinuating about her. She already knew. Jason, however, asked Babs if she could send him a copy, and his phone dinged a moment later. Steph let him read it, because she trusted him, and knew it wouldn't - couldn't - contain any information she hadn't already shared with him. Jason leaned back, engrossed in his phone and the email he'd received, while Steph went over the game plan with Babs.

"So just lay low for a bit," Babs said. "You can take the baby out, do whatever you want, but don't do anything to draw attention to yourselves, okay?"

"Sure," Steph said, closing her eyes. "And you're sure the article isn't running?"

"If it does," Babs said darkly, "The Gazette will have more hell to pay than the devil himself could dish out."

Steph found that somewhat comforting, but when she looked at Jason, he was positively shaking with rage. He placed his phone down, took a deep breath, and said, an aura of unsettling calm overtaking him, "Babs, isn't this illegal? They put information in there that would have been in her medical records. She was a minor."

"I know, Jason," Babs replied, patient as ever. "As I just explained to Steph, the story - and all forms of it - are not running. At all. Ever. Bruce called the editor-in-chief and basically told him if he was going to publish something like that, he better lawyer up, because the whole Wayne family legal team would be coming after him for defamation."

"But it's all true," Stephanie said. "It's not defamation if it's true."

"It's not true," Jason said, hands still clenched into tight fists. "They called you - whatever, it's not true, okay? You've been amazing with Angel. You're amazing in general."

"I'm not," Steph said, feeling the numbness set in. She couldn't believe this was happening to her. "Babs, I'm going to let you go."

"Sure, Steph," Babs replied. "Just...take care of yourself, okay? I promise I'm staying on top of these stories. No one will publish anything about the two of you that I don't see first."

"Thanks," Steph said, her voice distant.

"Thank you, Babs," Jason echoed, giving her an odd look. She was behaving oddly.

Babs disconnected the call and Steph set her phone aside, leaning back into the couch and closing her eyes. She couldn't believe this. She had never thought she'd be in the public eye - and never thought they'd get a hold of information about her baby. Information that was, as Jason pointed out, in her medical records, as a minor, unable to be viewed aside from hospital staff.

She wondered, briefly, who had been paid off.

"Hey," Jason said softly, resting his head on his hand, looking down at her. He reached out and took her hand in his for just a moment, before she pulled away, unable to bear the thought of touch right now.

"None of what they said is true," Jason said. "I read the article myself. It's just some drivel written by an intern looking for their big break."

"It is true, though," Stephanie said, and she bit her tongue, unwilling to let the next sentence slip out of her mouth. She didn't need Jason to know how lowly she thought of herself sometimes. This was one of those times. Mostly, she thought of herself as strong - as brave. The things she had endured had left her a survivor, with many scars inside and out, and a tenacity that would not be otherwise seen. But that was how she felt on a good day. And this? Knowing that the Gazette had tried to publish something revealing her past, her bad girl days as she was sure they'd labelled them? That was frustrating. That was enough to send her into a spiral.

"Steph," Jason said, his rough voice breaking through her thoughts. "You can talk to me about anything."

"I would have been a bad mother," Steph replied, still projecting an aura of utter calm. "I know it, you know it, and that baby over there almost certainly knows it."

"Steph, that's not true," Jason replied, his face grief-stricken.

"It is," Steph said. Angel started crying from her crib, so Steph got up, wandering over and scooping the baby into her arms. She held her against her chest, closing her eyes and letting the sobbing infant hold on tight, letting her press her head into Steph's chest, listening to the beat of her heart. It was all Steph could think to do, but the baby settled, grateful just to be held.

"Steph," Jason said, a little exasperated, "Can't you see you're brilliant?"

"I'm a lot of things," Steph replied. Brilliant though? That wasn't one of them.

Jason stared at her, at a total loss of what to do. He knew what he wanted to do - he wanted to go down tot the Gazette and crack some heads until some people were bleeding, broken, and incredibly sorry for their stupid choices that had lead them there. He couldn't do that, though. He was trying to be good - trying to avoid a scandal, keep Bruce happy. He wanted to, though. He supposed it was a measure of how far he'd come that he hadn't just immediately gotten up and done it. No, instead he was sitting here with Steph, watching her hold a baby in her arms like she never wanted to let her go, with a look on her face that was utterly heartbreaking to see. Steph made her way to the kitchen and started preparing a bottle for the baby. Jason jumped to his feet and came over to help, and they worked like that, together, in unison, until the bottle was done. Steph poured a little of the milk over the back of Jason's hand, watching his face to gauge his reaction, and was relieved when he nodded. Jason took Angel into his arms and held the bottle for her, and she latched onto it almost immediately, apparently having found her appetite now that she wasn't in pain. Steph stepped back, nodding almost to herself, and made her way back over to the couch, where Jason's phone sat on the cushion. She looked at it, gave it a thoughtful frown, and then said, "Jason, can I read it?"

"Of course," Jason said. It was written about her, after all. Steph picked up his phone and unlocked it, having memorised his passcode weeks ago, and scrolled back up to the top of the article. It had no headline, yet, which meant that Babs had caught it very early in the process - possibly before it had even made it to the editor. It was scary to think of Barbara's reach in the digital world, the things she could find with a couple of keystrokes and the click of her mouse. Steph leaned back into the soft cushions of the couch and started scrolling.

By the time she was done, Angel had consumed most of her bottle, and Jason had thrown a tea towel over his shoulder while he attempted to burp her. He rubbed her back, gently, and watched Stephanie's face. He saw it cross from rage, to fear, to sorrow and now finally resignation. The article had a lot to say about her past - it was absolute drivel. It probably wouldn't have even made it to publishing, because most newspapers knew better than to publish things that could get them sued. But the fact that someone had been bothered to write it, that stung. It stung bad. Angel was returned to her crib a minute later, having burped and settled down, and Jason turned to face Stephanie to find her crying silent tears.

They streamed down her face in pales lines, dripping from her chin and onto her shirt.

"Hey," Jason said, stepping over to her. He kneeled on the rug and looked up at her, one hand reaching up to cup her face. She let out a little sob, covering her eyes with one hand. "Hey," Jason tried again, wiping the tears away with his thumb. "Steph, it's okay."

"This is so stupid," Steph said, hiccupping. "I'm - I'm fine."

But she wasn't fine. Jason thought of the smile that had graced her face when they were at her mother's house and longed to see it again. He felt a flare of anger inside him, that the little words of some intern were enough to break Steph down like this, and he brought his other hand up to rest against hers. She twisted her hand, gripping his tight, and sniffled, closing her eyes as the tears streamed down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry," Jason said, not sure what else there was to say.

"It's not just about that," Steph said, so Jason settled in, dropping onto his knees and planting his butt onto the floor, his legs tucked up beneath him, both hands clasped in Stephanie's, trying, desperately, to offer her some comfort, any comfort at all. "It's everything."

"What about everything?" Jason asked.

"The article. Angel. My baby. My family. School. The Romano case. All of it. It's too much, right now," Steph said.

"Okay," Jason said, and he found himself relieved to have not been on the list. "It's okay, Steph. I think for tonight we just need to take it easy."

Steph nodded, letting go of his hands to wipe her face. "You must think I'm so stupid and weak," she said.

"I could never think you were stupid or weak," Jason replied. "You're the strongest woman I know." 

"Thanks," Steph said, but she didn't believe him, not one word. Jason got to his feet and made his way to the kitchen, and started pulling out ingredients, familiar ingredients. He worked quickly, leaving Steph on the couch to get a handle on her emotions, while he worked to make her favourite meal. It was barely fifteen minutes later when he set the plate of waffles down in front of her and handed her the can of whipped cream. She gave him a shaky smile and squirted a healthy amount on there, and then a little more, for good measure. Jason sat beside her, with his own plate, and they ate in silence, broken only by the scraping of cutlery and the occasional sniffle from Steph. When they were done, she leaned against him, pressing her face into his shoulder, and whispered "Thank you."

"Any time," Jason murmured back, and without thinking, he pressed a kiss to her forehead, before touching their foreheads together, their noses so close they were almost touching. Steph's eyes were closed, and she sighed, leaning in a little, wiping her face again, before she pulled away.

"I'm going to head to bed," she said softly, not quite meeting Jason's eye, even though it was barely eight o'clock. "I think I want to be alone."

"Okay," Jason said, suddenly shit-scared that he'd done the wrong thing. Had he overstepped the invisible boundary they'd drawn between themselves, the boundary that had blurred with each passing day? He didn't know. But he watched her go, in silence, and sat there alone.


	15. Chapter 15

The story ran eventually, but with a lot of modifications.

For starters, every reference to Stephanie’s past was thrown out under threat of lawsuit - Bruce had lawyered up, and he had lawyered up hard. The Gazette hadn’t known what hit them, and least of all they hadn’t known how exactly the Wayne family knew about the story to begin with, but they knew, and they’d brought in the big guns, and Stephanie’s past remained exactly that: in the past.

Secondly, it turned into a fluff piece about the positives of fostering a child. Babs had worked hard to legitimise the fostering, make it so that Angel was officially the foster child, temporarily, of Stephanie and Jason Todd. The article ran, and it included a photo of Jason and Steph and the baby, standing on the side of the road with her in their arms, looking at each other, an almost artsy black and white shot that belonged on the pages of a parenting magazine. They looked picture perfect, every bit the wholesome American ideal of a family.

Steph still hated the article.

The third and final thing was: in the search for Angel’s parents, no one had ever thought of just...putting her picture in the paper.

But in doing exactly that, they finally found the woman who claimed to be the baby’s mother.

“It’s true,” Babs said through the phone. “Her name is Hanna Kowalski. Bruce did the DNA test himself - it’s her. I’ll send you through Detective Montoya’s details so you can get in contact and arrange to give her back.”

And that was it. That was all there was to it - Angel was the daughter of Hanna Kowalski, a young dancer at one of the Romano family’s clubs, a dirt-poor Narrows girl with a past herself and nothing to her name but a beat-up car and a baby.

A baby she’d been missing for almost as long as Jason and Stephanie had been married.

They didn’t know how any of them had missed it, that missing persons report that listed KOWALSKI, LEILA OLIVIA, 4 MONTHS OLD. Dick said something about it being improperly filed, and Detective Montoya had a field day absolutely reaming the poor uniform who’d filed it incorrectly, and left Hanna Kowalski without her child for two months. 

Stephanie didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the utter ineptitude of the Gotham City Police Department. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at all. Mostly, she felt like screaming.

It didn’t seem fair, that Angel - Leila - had to go back. Steph knew that her place was with her mother, but God, she’d been with them for a month, and she’d become such a part of their lives it seemed unimaginable to take her away. Steph knew that there were reasons she felt this way, something about giving up a baby she’d actually gotten the chance to love, something about being separated again, something about loss. Something like that. It wasn’t as hard as the first time she’d done this, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.

The first time Jason called her Leila, the baby looked up at him and babbled in response, clapping her hands, and it was the only piece of confirmation that Stephanie needed. The DNA test, the birth certificate, the missing person’s report, all of that evidence had piled up in her mind as she tried to get ready to give the baby back to Hanna Kowalski, but the way she responded when she was called by her name for the first time in two months - it was clear, the flicker of recognition in her eyes, the way she chattered back, that she recognised it. That she knew it was her. That she was Leila Kowalski, and she needed to be reunited with her mother.

Steph stared down at the number that had been sent to her phone, reading each digit in turn, so many times she practically had the damn thing memorised. Jason was on the lounge, feeding the baby; they’d agreed she should be the one to call. She hesitated for just a moment before dialling the number, turning away so she couldn’t hear the sounds of Jason’s cooing, the baby’s suckling and occasional giggle. She took a deep breath and focused on the tone of each ring, until -

“Detective Renee Montoya, how can I help you?”

“Hi, Detective Montoya,” Steph said, folding her arms across her chest. “This is Stephanie Brown.”

“Stephanie Brown....Stephanie...oh, Jason Todd’s wife, right?”

“Yes,” Stephanie took a deep breath. “I’m calling about the baby.”

“Of course,” Detective Montoya sounded tired, kind, maybe even a little sympathetic, though of course she couldn’t have an idea of what this had been doing to Steph. “Leila Kowalski, right?”

“That’s her,” Steph said, curling into herself as much as she could. “I’ve been reassured your department has done what’s necessary to verify Ms Kowalski’s identity, confirm that this baby is hers?”

“That’s correct,” Montoya replied. “We’ve done everything, dotted our i’s and crossed out t’s. We didn’t want a repeat of the mistake that led to this poor child ending up in foster care to begin with.”

“I understand,” Steph said, a little distant. She knew she could trust Detective Montoya’s word - Babs had checked and double-checked the information herself. Bruce had gone over it twice. They’d both confirmed, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Hanna Kowalski was Angel’s birth mother.

“We’ll need to arrange a time and date to reunite them,” Detective Montoya said. “As soon as possible, the better.”

“Tomorrow,” Steph said, closing her eyes. “Whatever time works best for you and Ms Kowalski.”

“Does two work for you?” Detective Montoya asked. Steph heard the sound of typing in the background, and a pause, like the detective was checking something herself.

“Two would be fine,” Steph replied. She turned to watch Jason cradling the baby in his arms, and sighed to herself, mostly silent. “Two would work great. We’ll meet you at GCPD.”

“Just ask for me at the front desk, they’ll be expecting you,” Montoya replied. “Thank you, Stephanie.”

“Don’t worry about it, Detective Montoya,” Steph replied, and she hung up the phone, pocketing it with a sense of vague unease. She watched as Jason tickled the baby’s stomach, laughing, and at the baby - at Leila - laughing back, clapping her hands against his face. She supposed she had to break the news to him, but he’d been handling this whole situation a lot better than she had, from beginning to end - he’d barely wavered when they’d gotten the baby, and since they’d heard about Hanna Kowalski, he hadn’t even cracked, just being his usual self, especially with her. Steph found it almost painful to look at her, now, but she did, she forced herself, determined to keep these memories as long as she could have them.

Steph watched Jason and Leila for a few more moments before she walked over, her arms folded over her chest, desperately hanging onto herself, like she could hold herself together by sheer force of will. "Hey," she said, and Jason didn't say anything about the fact her voice cracked a little bit.

"You make the call?" Jason asked, and Steph nodded, collapsing onto the couch beside him.

"Yeah," Steph said, and her voice sounded so tiny, so distant and far away. "Tomorrow afternoon, at two."

"Sure," Jason said, tickling the baby's toes. She squirmed and giggled again, looking up at Steph with wide eyes, sticking her tongue out and making silly sounds as she tried to blow a raspberry at the woman. Steph grinned, unable to help herself, and stuck her tongue out back, crossing her eyes and pulling funny faces while Leila watched. The baby shrieked when Jason scooped her up and placed her over his shoulder, kicking her legs and squealing, reaching for Stephanie instead. Steph, laughing, scooped the baby up and held her in her arms, looking down at her for a moment.

She was going to miss this.

They spent a quiet evening together, eating, taking turns with the baby, talking quietly. They avoided the harder topics, like _god, doesn't this hurt, giving her back_ , and _what are we going to do now?,_ as the child had, it felt, irreconcilably changed their lives. They'd grown used to her, to her presence, to the way she neatly slotted into their lives together. Stephanie placed Leila in the crib and looked down at her, her hands clenching the wood beneath them tight. Jason came over and put an arm around her waist, pulling her close, and pressed his forehead against hers for just a moment before pulling away.

"She'll be okay," he said to her.

"It's not her I'm worried about," Steph said. Jason looked at her for a moment, with the kind of long, soul searching gaze he usually reserved for conversations with Bruce, and he nodded, closing his eyes for just a moment.

He understood.

When she woke the next morning, Steph found the bed empty. She kicked off the quilt and the sheets, untangling herself, and rolled out of bed, pulling on the grey sweatshirt she'd discarded the night before. She wandered down to the kitchen, where Jason was staring into his cup of coffee like perhaps it held the answers, and cleared her throat so he knew she was there.

"Morning," Jason said. His eyes were red-rimmed, like he'd been crying, but his face was dry. Leila was snoring quietly from the crib.

"Morning," Steph said, reaching over to pour herself a cup of coffee. She added sugar, stirring thoughtfully, and when she turned back around Jason was holding the whipped cream out to her.

"Thanks," Steph said, squirting it into her coffee. She returned it to the fridge and took a sip, sighing into her cup. Today was the day. It was going to be fine.

"It's going to be fine, right?" Steph said.

"Yeah," Jason replied. "I...I know Bruce and Babs would have already done it, but I did a background check on Hanna Kowalski. She's a good person, a good mother. She just got herself mixed up in some Romano family bullshit."

"Yeah," Steph said, nodding. She suspected as much herself. It was hard to live in Gotham City and not get sucked into one villain or another's bullshit, from time to time. She'd lived her childhood in villain bullshit, in gangsters and criminals alike. She knew how it was. She knew Jason did, too.

Steph finished her coffee in silence, leaning against the kitchen counter, watching as Jason prepared a bottle for Leila. He moved methodically, like he'd done this a thousand times before, and it was a look that suited him. He would, Steph thought to herself, make a great father someday. He was kind, organised, and radiating from him was a warmth and gentle spirit that she hadn't thought the Red Hood could possess. But she'd gotten to know him pretty well, these last two months, and he was so - _good_. At his core, no matter what he'd done, she knew Jason Todd was a good man.

Steph held out her wrist when the bottle was done, and Jason diligently dropped some milk onto it. Steph wrinkled her nose, licking it away, and shook her head.

"It's too warm," she said. "Let it sit a minute before you feed her."

"Roger that," Jason said, and he went over to the crib, where Leila was starting to stir, stretching out her limbs slowly, shrugging in her little onesie, wrinkling up her nose and clasping her fingers against the sheet. Jason scooped her up into his arms and she let out a surprised squeak, opening her bleary eyes and looking at him.

"Good morning, angel," Jason whispered, pressing his mouth to the back of her head. She yawned and looked over at Steph, stretching out her legs.

"Good morning, angel," Steph said, setting her cup in the sink to be rinsed and put in the dishwasher later. Leila yawned again, rubbing a fist against her face, and Steph walked over, bottle in hand.

"Oh, bubba," Steph crooned, wiping her thumb underneath one of Leila's eyes. "Let's wipe off your face first before breakfast, huh?"

"Hang on," Jason said, shifting her in his arms. He wrinkled his nose. "We're heading to the bathroom first."

"You change her, I'll get a washcloth ready," Steph replied. Jason nodded and headed to the bathroom, baby in arms. Steph made her way over to the linen closet and pulled out a washcloth, closing the door and heading for the sink. She dampened it under the lukewarm water, wringing it out a little, and followed Jason to the bathroom, where he was just finishing putting a diaper on the baby.

"Hold still," Steph murmured, wiping Leila's face with the cloth, getting the crust of sleep from her eyes and wiping away the dried drool from her mouth. Leila squirmed, kicking her legs, but allowed it with little protest. Steph grinned down at her and tickled her bare belly with her fingers, earning her a giggle.

"Come on," Jason said, clasping her bodysuit back together, pulling it over her legs and adjusting it so it sat comfortably. "Time for breakfast, angel."

Steph rinsed out the washcloth in the bathroom sink while Jason took the baby back to the lounge room for her morning feed. She stopped, for a moment, and stared at her reflection, which stared back at her, looking as lost and alone as she felt. It was a tense moment, just her and her reflection, but she was broken out of her reverie by Jason calling out, "Are you coming to join us or what?"

"Coming," Steph called back, leaving the bathroom and the sad-eyed girl in the mirror, throwing the used washcloth into the laundry hamper on her way through.

There was still a few hours to go yet until they had to give Leila back, so Steph settled into the floor, laying the baby on the rug and playing with her, with the few age-appropriate toys they'd collected over the past few weeks. She could feel her walls going up, could feel the urge to push the baby into Jason's arms and have nothing more to do with her, but she forced herself to sit with her, to appreciate these last few moments together before they had to hand her over to her mother and Detective Montoya. It had only ever been temporary, she told herself, her eyes searching the room for Jason's and freezing when they met his steady gaze. It was all temporary, the baby, the marriage, this uneasy - or perhaps too easy - pattern she'd fallen into with Jason. It was never going to last forever, and this was a reminder of that.

"It's okay," Jason said, like he knew what she was thinking. "I'm going to miss her too."

"It's not that," Stephanie said, and she fell silent, because it was that. It was exactly that. She wasn't about to admit that out loud, though.

The three of them spent the morning together, Stephanie and Jason mostly silent, Leila as loud and chatty as ever. At one point she grabbed Steph's hands and cried out "Ste!" with an exuberant little baby grin. There was a peek of white on her gums now, the hint of a tooth breaking through the skin. Since it had, she'd been crying less, and she'd been a lot calmer. Steph knew it was one of the many things they were going to have to tell Hanna when they handed her baby back.

This whole - this whole thing, Steph thought a little desperately, had almost made her want to become a foster carer, for real. She and Jason could do it together, take in little punk street kids not unlike their younger selves, guide them onto a better path, a better life, guide them to better things. But she wasn't ready for that; she hadn't been ready for this, for Leila, but now, thinking about it, she wouldn't have changed these few short weeks for anything. Were she and Jason the most qualified to care for this baby? Absolutely not, but they'd done it, and they'd done it mostly alone. They'd figured it all out together, and it had fostered a kind of closeness between them Stephanie felt for no one else.

She was starting to feel a lot of things for Jason she felt for no one else, but those thoughts and feelings were locked away, deep inside her, never to see the light of day if she could help it. There was no way she was about to admit to them, and worst of all, there was no way he actually reciprocated. It seemed an impossibility greater than words could name, so she didn't dwell, ignored the feeling in her chest every time he pulled her into his arms or pressed an innocent kiss to her forehead, as he'd done the day they'd found out about the article. He hadn't done it again, and Steph found herself longing for it, wishing that he would, because she craved those gentle, affirming touches with a fierce intensity. She loved Jason, but now she was starting to think that maybe, just maybe, she _loved_ Jason.

And that was something she couldn't bear, so away it went, into the darkest recesses of her mind and heart, where all her complicated feelings lie.

The hours ticked by until it was almost one, and that was the point where Stephanie looked up and sighed, and left Jason with the baby while she went and got dressed. She wanted to look like she had her shit together, so she pulled on a pair of black pants she wore for job interviews, and her favourite purple button-down shirt, finding a charcoal blazer to go over the top. She walked to the bathroom and took a moment to stare at her reflection, pulling her hair free from its messy ponytail and brushing it quickly, parting it to one side. She quickly lined her eyes with kohl and added a soft nude lipstick, and she stopped and stared at her reflection again, satisfied she looked like a professional young woman, like someone you could trust with a child for a month without having met them. When she wandered back out, Jason looked up, and then looked again, because he hadn't been expecting Stephanie to look like that.

"Should I be putting on a suit...?" Jason asked, looking her up and down.

"No," Steph said, tugging her sleeves down over her wrists. "Dress however you want. I just want Hanna Kowalski to think we were the right people to care for her kid while she's been missing."

"Fair enough," Jason said, and he disappeared into the bedroom, emerging minutes later in dark jeans and a button-down shirt, adjusting the collar in the hallway. He hadn't known he'd owned so many buttoned shirts until he moved in with Stephanie and had found an excuse to wear them. He also quickly ran a comb through his hair, brushing it back off his face, out of his eyes, and walked back into the lounge room, where he pulled his boots from under the table and slid them on, doing the laces up quickly. His socks had a hole in them, but that wasn't something that you could see from the outside. 

"Looking good," Steph said, glancing up from the baby. She was holding Leila in her lap, letting the baby kick her little legs out and gurgle up at her, eyes wide. Jason reached down and tickled her under the chin, and she laughed, delighted, and slapped her hands on Stephanie's knees.

"It's almost time to go," Jason said, and Stephanie nodded, handing him the baby. He held her in his arms and watched as Stephanie gathered the last of the things to go in the diaper bag, including the formula, the bottles, the toys. They weren't leaving Hanna without supplies - after all, she hadn't seen her baby for weeks now, she might not have things that were the right size any more. Steph threw in every one of the baby's outfits and zipped the bag shut, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, ignoring the feeling deep in her chest that her heart was breaking. There was no time for that, now right now. She could do this - they both could. It was going to be fine.

"You ready to go?" Steph asked, glancing up at the clock. It was one exactly, which gave them time to get downtown to the police headquarters and inside to meet with Detective Montoya before Hanna Kowalski arrived. At least, Stephanie hoped so. They made it down to the car quickly, and Stephanie and Jason both checked the straps as they buckled Leila in, their most precious cargo, and Stephanie left the diaper bag on the seat beside her. Steph cupped one of her cheeks in her hand and smiled when the baby blew a raspberry at her again, kicking her legs happily.

"Stop being so cute," Steph whispered, tickling her toes. She closed the door and made her way to the passenger seat, sliding inside and buckling herself inside. Jason slid into the driver's seat beside her, ignoring his seatbelt until they were almost out onto the road. It wasn't a long drive to GCPD headquarters, but Steph found herself watching the city go past slowly, watching the people, watching the concrete streets, lost in thought. She should have grabbed a hat or something to keep her head warm, she thought, as she watched the grey clouds above, heavy with the promise of rain, or perhaps the first snowfall of the season, she wasn't sure which. When they got there, Jason circled the block a couple of times around, looking for parking. Steph saw a spot - a couple of spots, actually - but she got the sense that wasn't the only reason Jason was circling the block. No, he was putting it off, just as much as she was. He didn't want to do this, didn't want to hand Leila back to a stranger, change the easy routine they'd found themselves in. He glanced to the rear view mirror, where he could see Leila's feet, and sighed to himself, pulling into the next spot he saw outside GCPD headquarters.

Steph looked up and the imposing building and shivered, whether from cold or not she didn't know. Steph had been here plenty of times as a child, when they'd thrown her dad in lock-up overnight to dry him out, and then when he'd been thrown in for petty crimes precluding court dates, and then during her stint as Robin. Jason, she was sure, had been to the building plenty of times in the past, but somehow none of those moments all together had ever filled her with as much dread as she felt now.

"You get the baby, I'll get the bag," Jason said, and Steph nodded, unbuckling her seatbelt and walking around to the door, opening it and sliding inside. Leila was watching both of them with wide eyes, like she'd just figured out something was going on, something different, something she wouldn't like. Her face crumpled up for a moment and for a dizzying second Stephanie thought she was going to cry, but Jason tickled her toes and her face broke out into a tiny grin, her one tooth poking through her otherwise bare gums.

"No crying, now, angel," he said to her, shouldering the bag full of supplies. She reached for him as he pulled away with a cry, and looked up, saying a single word that made both Jason and Stephanie freeze in their tracks:

"Dada!"

"No, sweetheart," Stephanie found herself saying, as Jason stood back from the car, gripping onto the strap of the bag so tight his knuckles had gone white through his skin, "That's Jason. Remember? Jason."

"Ja," Leila said.

"That's right," Steph said, unbuckling the straps and pulling the baby free. "You're such a clever girl."

"Ste!" Leila clapped her hands against Steph's cheeks, and Steph smiled, but when she met Jason's eyes he couldn't bring himself to smile back. He looked like he'd been gutted, his face pale, his eyes downcast.

Steph made her way over to him with Leila tucked under one arm, resting on her hip, and with her free hand she reached for Jason's, squeezing gently. He nodded, slowly, and followed her up the steps and into the police headquarters, reaching forward to hold open the glass door for Steph to walk through.

They made their way up to the main desk, staffed by uniformed officers. Steph shifted the baby's weight as she leaned down to look at one of the officers, a young man in a dark uniform, and said, "Stephanie Brown and Jason Todd here to see Detective Renee Montoya, please."

"Sure," the cop sounded bored. He checked something on his nearby computer and then nodded, waving toward a line of hallways behind them. "Take the elevator up to the third floor, and Montoya should be waiting there for you."

"Thank you," Stephanie said, and she shouldered the weight of the baby once more, following Jason past the hallways they saw that led off into the labyrinthine branches of the building, to the elevator, where they were the only ones inside. It was surprising, given the number of people milling about, but they made it up to the third floor quickly, and they stepped off the elevator into a wide open space full of desks, doorways and halls that led elsewhere. 

"You must be Stephanie." Detective Montoya was a taller woman with dark hair pulled back into a messy ponytail, her badge sitting at her hip. She was dressed in the casual - or more casual, anyway - clothes of a detective, a leather jacket with dark jeans and boots, and they followed her through the precinct, until they arrived at a small door. She nodded at Jason, like she knew him. “Jason.”

“Detective Montoya,” Jason replied, ducking his head. Stephanie shot him a curious look but chose not to say anything in front of the detective.

"Wait in here," Montoya said. "I'm just going to wait outside for Ms Kowalski."

"Of course," Stephanie said, surprising herself with how cheery her voice sounded. It was fake cheer, though. She couldn't have been feeling further from that if she'd tried.

Jason was standing close, one hand at the small of Stephanie's back, the other resting on Leila's leg. She was squirming and kicking, desperate to be anywhere but here, but Stephanie kept a tight grip on her. She didn't want to let her go. Jason was murmuring something quietly to her, something Stephanie couldn't make sense of, and she realised with a start it wasn't in English. Jason did that sometimes, slipped into another language while he was talking to her, and any time she'd commented on it he'd just grinned and claimed it was good for her development. Stephanie hadn't argued. She wasn't about to now, either; it was the last time he'd get to do it.

Panic was rising in Stephanie's chest. She kept her light eyes on the clock above the door, which was ticking ever-closer to two o'clock. Steph leaned up against the metal table in the centre of the room, and Jason moved with her, resting against it beside her. Their gazes met for just a moment, and Steph took a deep breath, struggling not to cry.

It was fine.

It was all going to be fine.

The door swung open, and Detective Montoya stepped back inside the room. Following her was a shorter girl, wide-eyed, her collarbones peeking out from under her shirt. She had a shock of blonde hair with a stripe of dark at the roots, and pale skin unmarred by scars or freckles. Her eyes were green and wide, just like Leila's, and Stephanie knew it went without saying that she was looking at Hanna Kowalski, Leila's mother.

"Leila," Hanna breathed, and she rushed toward Stephanie, to the baby in Stephanie's arms. Steph managed to stop herself from pulling away, but only just. She handed Leila over willingly, and watched as the baby's eyes lit up and she laughed, grabbing onto her mother tightly with her chubby fists, giggling and kicking her legs.

"Hi," Stephanie said, supporting Leila's head as she deposited the baby into the younger woman's arms. "I'm Stephanie. This is Jason."

"Hi," Hanna said, and there were tears in her eyes, her eyes that were only for her baby. She didn't give Jason and Stephanie so much as a second glance, pressing her forehead against the baby's, murmuring to her softly. Stephanie bit her lip and looked at Jason, who was pointedly not looking back. She could see the shine to his eyes under the fluorescent lights, and knew it was taking all his strength to keep it together, just as it was taking all of hers.

"There's just a few things from CPS I need the two of you to sign," Detective Montoya said, and Steph nodded, accepting the paperwork. Babs had warned her about this, that there would be paperwork to make it all official that Leila was going back into her mother's custody. She turned to face the table and added her signature along the bottom of one form, handing the other to Jason, who waited patiently for the pen. They each signed, swapped forms, signed again, and read over the last two pieces of paper, which required only an initial. Stephanie handed the pen back to Detective Montoya and looked at Hanna again, at Hanna and Leila.

"Thank you," she said, and god, she couldn't be older than nineteen. Stephanie thought of her own youth and ached.

"It was no trouble," Stephanie replied.

"Leila was an absolute pleasure," Jason added. "She's a good kid."

"She's a blessing," Hanna whispered, and there were tears streaming down her face. Stephanie reminded herself this was the first time she'd seen her baby in two months, that the Romano family had taken her away because she'd been an easy target - a young mother without the resources or the time to look, scantly keeping a roof over her head? Yeah, it made sense why they'd targeted this woman, this baby. Steph made a silent vow to bring Dominic Romano and the rest of his no-good gangster bullshit family to justice, one way or another. She was going on patrol that night. She needed to hit something, hard, as many times as it took for it to stop hurting.

"Thank you," Hanna said again, breathing in the soft baby scent of Leila's fine dark hair. Jason took the bag of baby supplies off his shoulder and left it on the table, patting it awkwardly.

"There's enough in there for a couple of days," he said, and Hanna nodded, looking scared and unsure and entirely overwhelmed, but also relieved, like she'd just woken up from a nightmare she'd thought would never end.

"Bye, angel," Steph whispered, touching one hand to Leila's cheek. Leila looked at her, wide-eyed, and babbled something back to her. Jason reached out and tickled her back one last time, and she grinned up at him, waving her hands.

"Say goodbye, _gołąbeczku_ ," Hanna murmured.

"Ba!" Leila exclaimed, and they all laughed, and a little bit of the tension was broken, for a moment, just a moment.

Stephanie stepped outside, leaving Hanna in the capable hands of the detective, knowing that her role had been fulfilled. Jason followed, and the two of them walked to the elevator together, elbows touching. Jason looked back, and he could see Leila looking at them, the hint of a frown crossing her face. He exhaled, slowly, and put an arm around Stephanie's shoulders, pulling her close as they stepped onto the elevator. They turned together, and watched Leila tear her gaze away from them and back to her mother. As the doors closed, they saw her sweet grin for the last time.

Stephanie didn't burst into tears until they made it back to the car, and all Jason could do was hold her, tears streaming down his own face.


	16. Chapter 16

Silence filled the car on the drive back to the building.

Stephanie stared out the window, her eyes gritty and sore, face puffy and red from her outburst. Jason was taking each turn with care, merging into the traffic with ease, his face carefully blank. They'd each pretty much agreed they didn't need to talk about it beyond this - or ever again, if Stephanie could help it. She didn't feel ready to head home, but there was nowhere else to go, and she knew she looked enough of a mess that if they went anywhere, anywhere at all, someone would snap a photo of them both and a new headline would be produced within the hour.

So Stephanie remained silent, and watched the streets as Jason drove them home.

They pulled into the garage beneath their building, and Stephanie unbuckled her seatbelt, letting it retract slowly as she leaned forward and took a deep breath. Jason glanced sideways at her, but didn't say anything, parking the car in silence.

"This sucks." Steph broke the silence after a few minutes of them both just sitting there, neither willing to move, neither willing to talk.

"Yeah," Jason agreed weakly, closing his eyes. He looked like he wanted to be somewhere, anywhere else. Steph didn't blame him, not one bit. This sucked.

"Let's just head back upstairs and see if Babs has any more data on the Romanos," Steph added, opening her door. "Because I don't know about you, but I could really-"

"Kick some ass tonight? Me too," Jason replied, and he gave her a sad smile. She wanted to reach forward and take it off his face, throw it away so that expression could never think of crossing Jason Todd's features ever again. Steph got out and thrusted the door shut with her hip, following Jason over the elevator at the back of the parking garage.

Jason reached forward and tapped the button, standing back for a moment. There was no indication the elevator had moved, so with a shrug, he reached forward and tapped it again, and they both heard the faint whirring that indicated the elevator was coming down to them.

"We should get inside," Steph said, shoving her hands into the pockets of her blazer. "It's freezing out here. It's too early in winter for it to be this cold."

"You're right," Jason said, as the doors slid open. The two of them stepped inside, Steph leaning up against the railing, and Jason reaching forward to hit the button that would take them up to their floor. The doors slid shut, and the elevator started moving, slowly taking them up a couple of floors before it ground to a halt.

"What?" Steph said, looking around. The doors hadn't opened, and the thing indicated they hadn't made it all the way up to their floor yet, so why were they stopped?

"Let me try," Jason said, and he tapped the button again. The elevator made a noise.

It was not a good noise.

It was, Steph thought sort of absently, the kind of noise you hear before everything goes sort of very horribly wrong, and damn if that didn't seem accurate to the events of the day.

"I think it's stopped," Steph said, just as the lights went low. She groaned, putting her head in her hands for a moment while Jason looked around for a way out. "This - this seems about right," Steph remarked, looking around. "This is about exactly how I'd expect our day to go."

"Check your phone," Jason said, pulling out his phone from one of his jacket's many pockets. "Mine's just about dead, how about yours?"

"No signal," Steph replied, tucking it back into her blazer pocket. Of course there was no signal. That seemed pretty accurate to how their day was going, too.

"Okay," Jason said. "I have a plan."

"Let's hear it," Steph replied, already having visions of just how things could go horribly wrong. Jason's plans were never really so much plans as they were...loosely connected ideas that sometimes, occasionally, worked. Steph was willing to listen, though. Maybe this time Jason had come through.

"Alright, so," Jason said, looking upwards. Steph looked upwards and spotted the manhole cover that was clearly the basis for this next plan.

"Oh, no," she said very quietly.

"Oh, yes." Jason laced his fingers together and held them out to her. "Come on, I'll give you a boost."

"This is a horrible idea," Steph griped as she climbed up onto his hands, and then to his shoulders, her legs dangling down his back as he tried to balance her high enough that she could reach the cover. She got her fingers underneath it and pushed upwards, shaking it loose and pushing it aside. She got her hands up through it, only just, and started trying to pull herself upwards.

"That's it, you're doing it," Jason said encouragingly. Steph got up a little further and used Jason's shoulders to brace her knees, her head poking through the hole in the elevator ceiling, looking up in the elevator shaft. They were stuck between two floors, with nowhere really for them to go, but Steph decided to chance it and try to climb upwards anyway.

At that moment, her arms, which had been holding most of her weight the entire time, gave out, and she fell back through the hole and on top of Jason with a loud thud. She and Jason sprawled on the floor, Steph on top of him, cushioned by the man's larger body as she'd come toppling through the ceiling and onto him. Jason groaned, looking up, and found that their faces were mere inches apart, and Steph had her hands flat on his chest, staring down at him.

"Sorry," Steph said, and she giggled, and that was a welcome sound after the day they'd had, so Jason decided to let the whole landing-on-top-of-him thing slide. 

"Is your shoulder okay?" Jason asked, propping himself up on his elbows. Steph nodded, rubbing it absentmindedly, and leaned back into her knees, straddling him still. 

"I think so," Steph replied. "Well, there goes that idea."

"Not quite," Jason said. Steph looked down at him, and slid off from on top of him, landing awkwardly on the ground before rolling onto her back and turning to face him. "Your turn," Jason nodded upwards. "Give me a boost."

"No offence, but you are two hundred pounds. There is no way I am boosting you through that, I didn't even fit through it."

"Excuse you," Jason said. "I'm one eighty five. And it's worth a try."

"I can't lift you, dude," Steph said, leaning back, tilting her head to one side.

"Are you Batgirl or not?"

"I am," Steph conceded. "Alright, fine, fuck it. Get ready, boy wonder."

Jason got to his knees and looked up at Stephanie, who had climbed to her feet, a little unsteady after the tumble they'd taken. She laced her fingers together and held her hands out to him, ready to hoist him upwards. He climbed to his feet and put the left foot onto her hands, using her shoulders to balance himself, and allowed her to give him some momentum up to the shaft. He got his head through the manhole with no dramas, but when it came to his shoulders they both realised quite quickly that there was a problem.

The problem was that Jason was not a diminutive woman, and while Steph had managed to get most of the way through the manhole before she had come crashing back down, there was a more unique problem presented by Jason being six foot tall and three feet wide.

That is to say, he was stuck.

"Push!" He exclaimed, struggling to wriggle one of his arms through the tiny space.

"I AM PUSHING!" Stephanie yelled back, trying to force him upwards. Jason struggled for another minute before he finally, triumphantly, got one arm up through the hole, and tried to pull himself up the rest of the way. This would have probably even worked, except:

Stephanie let go.

Jason came tumbling back down to the floor, landing on top of Stephanie with all the dignity of a muppet. This time Stephanie was underneath, this time, with all two hundred pounds - sorry, one eighty five pounds - of Jason on top of her.

"Oh my God," Stephanie groaned. "Get off."

"I'm trying," Jason said, getting up onto his elbows. He looked down at Steph, already feeling a bruise forming across his backside from where he'd landed both times this particular plan had not gone well. Steph stared back up at him, her eyes flicking to his mouth for a moment, and the two of them stayed like that, just staring at each other, before they both promptly broke out into laughter.

"Oh my God," Steph said again, clutching her side, blinking tears of mirth from her eyes. "I told you that wouldn't work."

"It was worth a shot!" Jason protested, laughing as he rolled off of her and onto his back. They laid there, on the elevator floor, laughing together. Steph felt the back of his hand brush hers, and without thinking, she curled the tips of her fingers around his, wiping the tears from her eyes with her free hand. It felt good to laugh, even if it was a little hysterical, and completely Jason's fault. It had been a hell of a day.

"Okay," Jason said, once they'd both caught their breath. They were staring up at the ceiling, at the loose panel they'd pried free and the open manhole. "What are we going to do?"

"Do you know anything about elevators?" Steph asked.

"Somehow, in all of Bruce's training, it didn't come up," Jason grinned, turning his head to face her. She grinned back, feeling a chuckle escape her mouth, and she clapped her hand over it, knowing that if she started laughing again, she might not stop, or worse, she might just devolve straight back into crying, and that was the last thing Steph wanted to happen.

It had been that kind of day, so far.

Steph drew her knees to her chest and looked over at Jason, brushing a strand of blonde hair off her face. "Well," she said, looking around the enclosed space, "I guess we ought to settle in and wait for rescue."

"Sure," Jason said, somewhat distracted as he crawled over to the doors. He pressed his fingers all along the seam between the two doors, trying to find a point he could push into them and pry them apart, and perhaps find their freedom that way, but the doors remained stubbornly shut, and Jason and Stephanie remained stuck inside, with little to nothing in terms of escape options.

"Settle in," Steph said, and Jason looked at her, a smile quirking up the corners of his mouth. "We'll be in for a while."

Jason came back to sit beside her, stretching his legs out across the floor. They sat side by side, their backs pressed up against the far wall, staring at the doors and willing them to open. Steph tucked her blazer around her body, trying to find some warmth from it, because in addition to not working, the elevator was cold. Though, Steph thought, looking around, at least the lights were still working. They were dimmed - definitely dimmer than they had been - but they were still on. None of the buttons seemed to be, but at least they weren't trapped in the dark. If they had been, she might have been trying harder to escape, but so far this wasn't too bad. Annoying, but not life-threatening, and she could wait it out until help arrived.

"Are you cold?" Jason asked, shrugging out of his leather jacket.

"No, I'm fine," Steph lied. Jason shook his head, holding the jacket out to her. Steph hesitated, looking down at it, and allowed him to drape it around her shoulders and pull it around her front, snuggling into the warmth. It smelled like him, like leather and smoke, and Steph found she didn't mind at all.

"Aren't you going to be cold, though?" Steph asked. Jason shrugged, and then shook his head.

"I'm fine," he said. "I'll let you know if I need it back."

"Sure," Steph replied, very aware that they were in winter and it was only going to get colder. She hoped they wouldn't be trapped here all night, but who knew, really? She checked her phone again, and sighed, seeing the little NO SIGNAL in the upper left hand corner. If things got desperate, she would try calling for help anyway. Babs would find a way to get the message, she was sure.

That gave her an idea.

"Hey, pass me your phone," she said. Jason handed it over willingly, and Steph unlocked it, scrolling through his contacts until she found Babs. There wasn't enough battery to make a call, but -

_Stuck in elevator. Send help._

She hit send, and as she did, the screen blinked an inky black, the battery having finally died completely.

"Sorry," Jason said, accepting the dead phone back. "I told you it didn't have much left."

"It was worth a shot," Steph said. "And I managed to hit send, so she might've actually gotten it before it died."

"Hopefully," Jason said, tucking the phone into the front of his jeans pocket.

They sat in silence a while longer, quietly contemplating the enormity of their emotions individually. Jason was twisting his wedding band around his finger, lost in thought, while Stephanie closed her eyes and leaned back into the elevator wall, pulling Jason's jacket closer around her and trying, perhaps futilely, to doze off and make the time pass faster. After twenty-seven minutes of counting the time tick away, she opened her eyes to find Jason's deep gaze upon her, and she shifted, looking at him.

"I miss her," he said.

"I don't," Stephanie replied, folding her arms across her chest and looking away. She did. Desperately. But lying to herself made it hurt less, so that was what she was going to do.

"Don't give me that bullshit, Steph," Jason said, and Stephanie blinked at him, surprised. "I know how you felt about her. I know it hurts."

"I don't want it to hurt," Stephanie said, lowering her voice. "I don't - just drop it, Jason, okay?"

"Look," Jason replied, shifting closer to her. "Normally I'm the first person to avoid talking about my feelings. I am. But I think we need to talk about this, for real. I don't think we're doing ourselves any favours by ignoring it."

Stephanie thought on that in silence, and then eventually offered: "Fine. I miss her too."

"What are we going to do about it?"

"Move on with our lives," Stephanie said. She could feel a keen pain inside her, sharp and unforgiving, a reminder that she'd done this before, and that with any luck she would never have to do it again. "That's all we can do."

"It just-" Jason's face twisted, and he frowned, closing his eyes for a moment and sighing. "It just doesn't feel...right."

"We're not her parents," Steph said. "We never were." 

"I know," Jason sighed. And then, quieter: "I know."

He wanted to be, though. He'd never really thought about having kids - never really thought he could do it. But these few weeks with Steph had shown him there was another way, another path his life could take. He could have someone, he could have a child. Family. It was something he was so afraid of, but with her, he found himself opening up to the idea of it, more and more. He didn't know what to think, really. But it was possible. He could see that now.

He didn't want to be like Bruce, or like Talia, and he didn't want to bring a child into his life that he couldn't devote his heart to. But he did want it - part of him did, anyway. It had been so overwhelmingly nice, even with the sleepless nights, the crying, the confusion and the mess. It had made him feel strangely whole again, healed in a way nothing else had offered him. He knew it was at least, in part, because of Stephanie. The influence they exerted on each other seemed to be only a power for good, and he hoped that when all of this was over - just a few weeks away, now - that they would stay in each other's lives more than beyond the occasional team-up. He loved Stephanie. She offered him a kind of stability that he never knew he could have.

She offered him friendship. Something he was sorely lacking. It wasn’t that he had nobody at all - but rather that he’d carved out himself an existence that wasn’t sustainable. He tried to face everything alone, despite the people he had who would support him, and Stephanie had planted herself into his life and told him _you are not in this alone_.

It was how they’d ended up working the Romano case together.

Stephanie looked up at him, silent, her face drawn. Her front teeth worried into her bottom lip slowly, and he felt the urge to reach forward and just touch it with his thumb, stop her, take the look from her face.

Her gaze dropped again, this time to his mouth, and she shifted, closing her eyes after a moment. She wanted to lean in and kiss him until she felt something, anything else, kiss him until he stopped looking at her like that. She couldn’t, though, so she squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fists and breathed in the intoxicating scent from his jacket, the leather and cinnamon and just a hint of smoke, and she willed herself to feel differently, because she couldn’t love him, and there was no way he loved her.

He leaned in, closer, and their foreheads touched. Her eyes snapped open until they were gazing at each other again, and he leaned in even further, until their lips were just inches away, and she desperately wanted to close the gap between them, not knowing that he did too, but wasn’t willing to let their first real kiss be like this.

They moved closer still. There was barely an inch between them.

The elevator shuddered, and they broke apart, Stephanie jerking back in surprise. She had almost kissed him.

"What the hell?" Jason asked, as the elevator shuddered again, and then finally started moving.

What the hell, indeed.

"It's moving!" Steph cheered, and Jason held up his hand for a high-five. She slapped their palms together, not quite meeting his eye, because the tension between them was still palpable. He was looking to the side, avoiding her gaze, because he wasn't quite ready to admit how close he'd come to just leaning across and kissing her. Likewise, Steph was a little stunned, unable to believe she'd almost let slip her feelings in that way.

The elevator stopped, and Jason got to his feet, holding his hand out to pull Steph to hers. Steph felt a tingle in her hand from where it touched his, and blinked slowly, feeling her cheeks grow warm with the heat of attraction. She watched him as he stepped towards the doors, and smiled back when he grinned at her as they slid open. They were back on their floor at last, after almost an hour trapped inside the elevator.

"We should really call someone and tell them it stopped working," Steph said.

"It's working again, isn't it? Someone must have fixed it."

"Maybe," Steph replied, shrugging off Jason's jacket and holding it out at him. He looked down at it for a moment, and then took it back, folding it over one arm as he dug his keys out of the pocket to let them inside. They stepped through the door, and both immediately froze, looking around.

"Oh," was all Steph said.

The crib was gone.

In fact, every indication that there had ever been a baby there at all was gone. Someone - Dick, probably, Steph thought to herself - must have come while they were gone and taken it, because all they were left with was their very nice apartment, with their very nice things, but nothing whatsoever that could remind them of her.

"I hate my family," Jason said, rolling his eyes. He dumped his jacket on the kitchen counter and made his way down to the bathroom. Steph stepped inside completely and closed the door behind her, personally thinking that she kind of hated them right now, too. They had no sense of boundaries, apparently thinking it was appropriate to break in and take their stuff while they weren't home.

Actually, now that Steph thought about it, she wouldn't put it past them to trap her and Jason in an elevator while they did it.

At the thought of the elevator - at what had almost happened - Stephanie felt her face flush, two spots of pink appearing high on her cheeks.

She wanted to kick herself, because she had almost slipped up and kissed him. It was a bad idea. It was such a bad idea, and it wasn’t going to happen, because he didn’t feel that way about her - they were friends. She glanced over to him as he made his way back to the kitchen, standing by the kitchen counter scrolling through his phone, portable charger in hand, his face serious and drawn, tired. He was one of her best friends. She felt something in her chest soften as the corners of his mouth twitched into a smile, and she sighed, looking away. She was being ridiculous. This whole thing didn’t mean anything, not like that.

What she would give for it to be, though.

“You hungry?” Jason looked up from his phone.

“Not really,” Steph replied. She felt weird. She needed to get away from him before she grabbed him and kissed him for real this time.

“I’m going to make something anyway,” Jason said, putting his phone and jacket aside and opening the fridge. “How do you like your grilled cheese?”

“Simple,” Steph said, shrugging out of her blazer. “Cheese, bread, butter. Nothing fancy.”

“A woman after my own heart,” Jason replied, pulling out the cheese and butter and thrusting the fridge door shut with his hip. “This’ll take me about ten minutes, if you want to go have a shower and get changed.”

“Sure,” Stephanie said weakly, well aware of the fact her face was blazing hot and that the tips of her ears had gone pink. A woman after his heart? If only he knew how accurate that actually was.

Steph made her way down the hall, and waited until she was safely locked away in the bedroom to dramatically flop on the bed and cover her face with her hands. She was an idiot! This was ridiculous! She could not believe she was here catching feelings for a guy that she’d barely spoken to before three months ago. Every inch of her body felt as if it was alight. She rolled onto her side and grabbed a pillow off the bed, burying her face in it and shrieking, grateful the noise was muffled enough that there was - she hoped - no way Jason had heard it.

Steph flopped back down on the bed and pulled the pillow away from her face, clutching it to her chest.

She needed to get over this, right now.

She stripped quickly, leaving her clothes in a pile at the end of the bed. She darted quickly into the bathroom and turned on the water as hot as she could stand it, twisting her hair up into a bun. She stood under the spray and closed her eyes, rubbing over her face with her hands, taking deep breaths. This had been such a weird fucked up day, and now she had almost kissed Jason.

This was not how she’d planned on her week going, to be honest.

“Okay,” she said, trying to give herself a little pep talk. “This is fine. You are fine. You are being ridiculous, Stephanie. Just pull it together.”

“Are you talking to yourself in there?” Jason called through the bathroom door. Steph jumped, looking towards the door.

“No,” she called out. Then, quieter, “Maybe.”

“Just coming to tell you food’s ready,” Jason said, and then she assumed he left, because there were no further attempts to talk. Steph stepped out of the tub and turned off the water, towelling herself dry and mumbling to herself about how this was fine, she was fine, and she was going to go out there and be totally normal.

He hadn’t said anything.

Maybe he hadn’t noticed she’d almost frenched him right there in the elevator?

It seemed likely, because - and this was the key point here - Stephanie hadn’t noticed that he’d almost frenched her right back.

Steph wrapped herself in her towel and made her way back to the bedroom, where she pulled on black leggings and a knitted sweatshirt. She left her hair up in the bun and wandered back to the kitchen, where Jason was leaning up against the counter with a mouthful of sandwich.

“That’s yours,” he said, his mouth full, pushing the plate towards her. She accepted the sandwich and took a grateful bite of crisp bread with warm, gooey cheese, just the right amount of melted. 

“Thanks,” Steph said, chewing slowly. Jason grinned at her, and she felt her chest warm, and after swallowing she grinned back, aware that she had cheese in her teeth and looked a mess, but not caring, because there was something so affirming about sharing moments like this with Jason.

She never wanted this to end.


	17. Chapter 17

Jason peered up at the menu, tapping his gloved fingers against the counter in the side of the van. He already knew what he wanted, but he was waiting patiently for the owner to finish serving the customer before him - a young woman who snapped a photo on her phone when she thought he wasn’t looking - before he made his order.

“Mr Red Hood!” He wandered over to this end of the counter and grinned down at Jason. “How are you?”

“I’m good, thanks, Bashir,” Jason replied, reaching over to shake the man’s hand. “How’s the wife?”

“She is very good, Mr Red Hood, thank you for asking,” Bashir’s grin widened. He grabbed a paper foil-lined bag from on top of the counter and poised his pen above it, looking up a Jason expectantly. “The usual?”

“Yes, please,” Jason said. “And can I get a chicken, tabouli, no salad, with cheese and garlic sauce?”

“Chicken, tabouli, cheese and garlic, I can do that for you,” Bashir replied, scribbling down the order on the bag, grabbing another to write down Jason’s usual order. He turned and called something out in Turkish to the young man behind him, sliding the two bags along the counter and leaning up against it, touching one hand to the gold chain around his neck. He peered down at Jason from over his glasses, still grinning, and asked, “Has there been much crime tonight to fight?”

“Not much, no,” Jason admitted, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his jacket. The leather gloves helped, and the cold didn’t quite penetrate his body armour, but just looking at Bashir in his orange buttoned shirt and jeans made Jason cold. “Just getting dinner for me and Batgirl.”

“Batgirl!” Bashir exclaimed, grinning. “She’s a feisty one, no?”

“She sure is,” Jason replied, smiling, even though it couldn’t be seen through his helmet. He wanted to take it off, feel the cool air against his face, but his identity was already precarious enough. 

He waited patiently to one side of the kebab van, which sat in the parking lot of an abandoned gas station in the heart of the city, its warm lights and rich aromas enticing everyone from blocks around to wander in and get themselves a plate. Jason had stopped it from being held up six months ago, knocking out the would-be thieves and leaving them zip-tied together on the pavement, and they’d been so grateful Bashir had presented him with a kebab afterwards, telling him thank you what had felt like a thousand times. Jason had kept coming back ever since, damn sure that they served the best doner kebabs in Gotham, and he was finally introducing it to Stephanie, who’d complained halfway through patrol of being hungry.

“Baba!” The young man behind Bashir passed two plates forward with meat piled high on bread. Bashir accepted it, adding lettuce and tomato to one with a generous drizzling of barbecue sauce, folding the bread into a tight wrap and stuffing it into one bag. He took the other, using tongs to apply tabouli and cheese, squirting garlic down it and then wrapping it and stuffing it into the other bag, folding the tops down and sliding them down the counter.

“Mr Red Hood!” Bashir called out, and Jason stepped back up to the counter, taking his hands out of his pockets.

“How much?” Jason asked, pulling a couple of twenties out of his pocket.

“For you, no charge!” Bashir waved him off, passing down the two kebabs.

“Bashir,” Jason said, exasperated. They did this every time. “I didn’t just order for myself tonight, I got two. Let me at least pay for one of them.”

“No!” Bashir shook his head, handing Jason each of the kebabs. “I won’t take your money.” 

Jason sighed and stuffed the twenties into the tip jar on the counter. Bashir shook his head at him, again, and wagged a finger at Jason.

“You are a stubborn boy,” he said.

“Thank you,” Jason replied, shoving each of the hot kebabs into his jacket pocket, where they pressed against his body armour, warming it up. “Keep warm, Bashir, okay?”

“Always hot in here!” Bashir replied cheerfully, waving Jason off. “Have a good night!”

“You too,” Jason called back, pulling out a grappling hook and firing it up at the building above. He pulled himself up onto the roof, swinging his legs over the ledge at the top and landing on his feet, his boots hitting the ground with a soft thud. He took a running leap to the next building, rolling into his landing, and then fired the grappling hook again, swinging across to the building after, where Stephanie was waiting, cowl pulled over her face and cape wrapped around her upper body for warmth. She looked over to him when he landed on the rooftop and an easy grin spread across her face, and she swung her legs, sitting on the edge of the rooftop.

“Fancy seeing you here,” she called out, pulling the cape from around her arms and letting it settle back onto the ground behind her.

“I got food,” Jason said, taking a seat beside her, landing with an undignified thud against the concrete. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the kebabs, checking the bags before handing Stephanie the one made with chicken. She accepted it, tearing the bag open and pulling the kebab out, sinking her teeth into the soft bread and taking a bite. He pulled off his helmet and sat it beside him, leaning against it with one elbow as he opened the paper bag containing his kebab.

Jason unwrapped his and pulled it free, taking the biggest bite he could to try and sate his rumbling stomach. Between grocery shopping and going for patrol they’d both somehow forgotten to eat dinner, and it was now, at 1 o’clock in the morning, that they were finally getting to it. It had been a quiet night on the streets of Gotham, thick clouds obscuring most of the moon and stars, leaving the city in darkness outside of its flickering streetlights and the dim glow of headlights on the streets. Steph had caught a bag-snatcher a few blocks over and left Jason to give him a stern talking to while she returned the stolen purse to a terrified old woman. Jason, in lieu of using his words, had simply pulled back his jacket to reveal the slim lines of his handgun, and made it clear that if it happened again, he was going home with a lot worse an injury than a bruised ego. Other than that, though, it had been a quiet night, and now they were settling in to eat.

“This is really good,” Steph said, her eyes widening as she took another bite full of chicken and tabouli. She licked sauce from where it was dripping down her gloved hand and swallowed, turning to smile at Jason. “Good choice, Red Hood.”

“I told you it was good,” Jason said, taking another bite and watching a couple walking down the street. A breeze whipped its way through the streets, sending a chill down his spine in spite of the heavy leather jacket he was wearing. Steph’s armour similarly regulated her body temperature, but she leaned in close anyway, feeling the wind pull through her hair and across the back of her neck. Winter had definitely set in on the Gotham streets, and it was cold out, too cold to do anything. Stephanie was thankful they hadn’t seen any homeless people on the streets, because she knew the shelters would be full up in this kind of weather, and she didn’t know where else to send them. Leslie’s clinic, perhaps, if only for a few hours. It wasn’t the weather to be on the streets tonight.

“Heard from anybody?” Steph asked, taking another bite and chewing thoughtfully. Babs had pretty much just checked in to tell her it was a usual patrol tonight and then gone offline, presumably to huddle up with Dick and watch a movie. Steph knew she would still be listening to their comms, but she wasn’t right there, watching their every move. She trusted Stephanie more, now. It was one of the perks of holding the Batgirl mantle for a couple of years.

“Renee called to tell me that all the children we rescued had been reunited with their parents,” Jason replied, wishing he’d thought to buy a drink when he’d been getting dinner. 

“That was nice of her,” Stephanie said, lowering her voice. Jason rubbed his throat, pulling a face, so she reached down to her belt and unclipped the silver canteen that hung there. She handed it over to him, watching as he unscrewed the cap and took a grateful gulp of the water inside.

“Thanks,” he said, clearing his throat. “You carry water on your belt?”

“You don’t?” Steph replied, raising an eyebrow. She looked over at his face and laughed, reaching down to her belt and pulling out a napkin, reaching over and wiping barbecue sauce from his face as he tried to wriggle away. “Hold still,” she exclaimed, wiping next to his lip, getting as much of the sauce off as she could without spitting on the napkin and scrubbing his face.

“Get off,” Jason said, but there was no aggression in it, just amusement. “Napkins too?”

“You know Batman’s motto: be prepared.” Stephanie looked away, ducking her head and grinning.

“I’m pretty sure that was the Boy Scouts.” Jason chuckled, leaning back on one hand and glancing sideways at her.

“You know, you never told me how you knew Renee,” Steph remarked, taking another bite out of her kebab and looking up at Jason expectantly. He swallowed and looked away, not quite meeting her eye.

“It’s not that deep,” he said. Stephanie waited patiently, knowing he’d open up when he was ready. And if that wasn’t today, well, it wasn’t today. But she sensed there was something there.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” she said eventually, when he’d finished his kebab and was crumpling the paper bag into a tight little ball. He scrunched it tighter 

“It’s not like you don’t know,” he finally said, looking up to meet her gaze. “When I was a kid, before Bruce....I was on the streets.”

“I know,” Stephanie said quietly, but she sensed there was more to this story.

“Renee Montoya was just a beat cop back then. She walked my block, every night. Watched out for us street kids. Made sure we all had somewhere to go.”

“One of the good ones,” Steph offered. Jason nodded thoughtfully.

“Yeah. As good as they can get, anyway. She used to pick me up and grab me doughnuts, or sometimes a sandwich. She busted me more than a few times for stealing, but some days - most days - she looked the other way. Let me off with a warning. That’s how come when Bruce picked me up I didn’t have a rap sheet longer than my arm. She kept me out of the system, as much as she could.”

“She never reported you to CPS?” Steph asked.

“Nah,” Jason leaned back on his hands, looking up at the clouded sky. “Well, I think she might’ve, a couple of times, the whole block, all the kids on it. But she never reported me specifically.”

“Does that ever make you angry?” Steph asked, knowing there had been a few times she’d wished someone would report her situation, but trying to understand where Jason was coming from.

“Fuck no,” Jason said. “It was the biggest favour she ever did me. I was able to sort it out for myself, and when I did end up in the system, it was when I was ready. I couldn’t see it at the time, but Renee showed me a lot of kindness.”

“That must have been hard,” Steph said, swinging her legs back and forth. “Living on the street. Least I always had a roof over my head.”

“It was hard,” Jason admitted, his voice quiet, sounding almost distant, faraway. Like he wasn’t quite ready to admit it to himself. “It was really hard. Especially on nights like this.”

“Yeah?” Steph asked.

“Yeah.” Jason fell quiet.

Steph watched him for a few moments, but it was hard to read his expression under his mask, so she turned her attention to the remains of her food and ate the last of it, wiping her gloves off on one of the napkins she’d plucked from her belt. She took the paper bag and folded it in half, and then in half again, over and over until she was left with a little rectangle of foil-lined paper that stubbornly refused to stay flat. She sat it on the ground beside Jason’s crumpled bag and laced her fingers together, stretching them out in front of her until she heard a satisfying crack. Jason was staring down at his boots, deep in thought, reminiscing about a past he’d rather forget.

Steph knew something about what that felt like.

The wind picked up again, and Steph shivered, pulling her cape closer around her shoulders. It seemed as though the temperature had dropped even further from when they’d left the apartment earlier in the night, and dark clouds filled the sky, obscuring the moon and stars. Steph sighed and looked upwards, searching for any familiar constellations through the clouds, but all she saw was the dark of the night sky.

A flurry of white started falling from the clouds, and Steph blinked, poking out her tongue to catch the falling flakes. Jason looked up, exhaling slowly, and looked across at Steph. He reached over and gently wiped a snowflake from her nose with his thumb, smiling, and brushed the snow out of his hair, which was turning steadily white as the snowfall got heavier. Wordlessly, they both climbed to their feet, Steph clipping her water bottle back to her belt as Jason picked up their trash. They stretched out their stiff limbs and stood, face to face, in the falling snow.

“It’s getting colder,” Stephanie said.

“Too cold to fight crime?” Jason asked.

“Too cold to commit crime,” Steph corrected.

Jason shot her a grin, leaning down to scoop up his helmet. She was a little saddened when his grin disappeared behind the smooth red fibreglass as he pulled the helmet over his face and head. He pulled his jacket closed over his body armour and zipped it shut, stuffing his hands in the pockets, shivering. Steph pulled her cape over her shoulders and tried her best to burrow into it, trying to keep the warmth as close to her as she could.

“Are we heading back to base or straight home?” Jason asked. Steph considered it for a moment, pursing her lips and wrinkling her nose, as the snow started falling heavier.

“Straight home, I think,” she said. “We’ll go up the fire escape around the back, so none of the neighbours see Batgirl and Red Hood breaking into Jason Todd’s apartment.”

Jason took a running leap off the roof, followed closely by Stephanie, who threw out a line and grabbed Jason by the wrist before he hit the ground. They swung through the air for a moment before Steph kicked out and bounced them off the side of the other building, letting Jason drop out of her grasp and onto the ground at a much safer distance. They’d left their bikes a few blocks away, so once she was on the ground and had recalled her line, she took off after Jason, running a few steps to catch up to him.

“Wait up, Red Hood,” she called. Jason slowed his gait down to an amble.

“You can move faster than that,” he told her. She laughed and punched him on the arm.

“You could wait for the lady to catch up,” she said.

“I could,” he inclined his head. Behind the helmet he was still smiling.

They moved through the streets with precision as the snow started piling up on corners and the pavement became icy. The road was becoming covered with a thin layer of crystallised ice, and they shared a glance, hurrying through the streets together. The streetlights above them flickered, and Steph shivered as the wind picked up, howling through the empty streets.

Steph made it to the alleyway they’d left the bikes in and stopped, looking around. Jason was at the mouth of the alley, leaning down, talking to someone. Steph took a nervous step backwards, then relaxed when she realised it was just a young woman, probably around Jason’s age, shivering in the darkness.

Jason pulled off his helmet as he spoke to her, letting her see his masked face. “It’s okay,” Steph heard him say to the woman. “I just want to help. Do you have somewhere to go?”

“N-no,” the woman’s teeth chattered. She was dressed in layers upon layers, with at least three sweaters beneath the oversized trench coat she was wearing, a pair of hole-ridden gloves on her hands. “The shelter’s full.”

“Here,” Jason said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a handful of bills. Steph spotted a few fifties amongst the handful he offered the woman. She shook her head, pulling her coat closer around her as the wind picked up again. “Take it. There’s a motel two streets away, this’ll get you a room for two nights.”

“I c-can’t,” she said, shivering. Steph stepped over to them, holding her hands out in front of her in a gentle, calming gesture.

“Please,” Steph said, looking between the two of them. “Take the money. We’ll give you a lift down to the motel.”

“It’s too much,” the woman protested, but she shivered again, coughing into her hand. Jason and Steph shared a look and Jason started walking towards his bike, stuffing the money into the pocket of the woman’s trench coat.

“Come on,” he said. “We’ll give you a ride. You ever been on a motorcycle before?”

She followed them nervously, looking around, but she climbed on the bike behind Jason, wrapping her arms around his waist. Jason pulled his helmet back on, looking over to Steph.

“Batgirl, head towards home,” Jason said, revving the bike. “I’ll catch up, okay?”

“Okay, Red Hood.” Steph felt the pockets of her utility belt to check if she had the house keys, and when she came up short, she looked up and across to Jason, who was holding them up in his left hand. He tossed them across to her and she caught them, tucking them into one of the many pockets of her belt before she climbed onto her motorcycle. The woman was looking between them curiously, like she wanted to say something but wasn’t going to.

Steph started the engine, giving Jason a brief nod before she took to the streets. She took it easy, well aware of the heavy snowfall and the slick patches of ice on the dark roads, making her way downtown without zipping through the streets the way she wanted to. She turned down the next street, feeling snow fall onto her neck and back as it started to come down heavier. The street lights flickered. She slowed up, aware that if she stopped now she wouldn’t make it home, so she pushed on, hoping Jason would reappear soon.

Headlights hit her from behind and she turned her head just enough to see the familiar, sleek shape and shining red that was Jason’s motorcycle. It followed her through the last few streets, until finally they were back at their building, safe and sound. There was simply the matter of hiding the bikes and getting back inside without anyone seeing their costumes.

“Fire escape,” Jason called out, and Steph nodded, parking her motorcycle in the alleyway behind the building. She pulled a cover out from her utility belt, pulling it over the motorcycle and attaching it so it couldn’t blow away in the brisk wind. It wasn’t perfect, but it would hide the vehicle until she or Jason went back out on patrol and could take her little bat-bike back to base.

Jason’s motorcycle didn’t particularly need hiding, being a much simpler model that would blend in with the vehicles on the street. He still pulled a cover out, though, from where Stephanie didn’t know, and covered the bike as well, securing the cover against the elements. The two vigilantes took the fire escape around the back of the building, climbing it slowly and quietly as possible, until they got to the top, where it stopped outside the bedroom window. Jason was quick to bust the lock on the window and get it open, letting Stephanie slip inside first before following her inside.

Steph pulled off her cowl and tossed it aside, untangling her hair from it. She stopped short when Jason looked up at her and he snorted, frowning and trying to smooth down her hair.

“Don’t laugh, okay? Cowl hair is a very real problem for Batgirls and Batman alike.”

“I’m not laughing at you,” Jason promised, suddenly feeling very concerned he’d hurt her feelings. “You just looked so cute with your hair sticking up every direction.”

Stephanie looked away, blushing. Pink tinged her cheeks as she removed her cape and folded it, setting it down on the bed, and started the arduous process of removing her suit. It was designed to stay on through the most insane of situations, which was fine, but it meant taking it off was a pain when all you wanted to do was get in your pyjamas and settle down with a warm cup of tea.

“Do you need help with that?” Jason asked. He’d pulled off the body armour and his grey undershirt, and was now standing there bare-chested in his dark kevlar jeans. His leather jacket had been tossed onto the bed, where a cigarette packet was sticking out of the side pocket, just poking through enough that Steph could see the red packaging.

“If you don’t mind,” Steph said. The batsuit was one long piece of kevlar blended with something akin to body armour - it was a flexible enough material, but it could withstand most knives and even offered some limited protection against bullets. It wasn’t the most lightweight thing in the world, but Babs claimed Bruce was working on it, his suit being made out of something similar. It had a clasp at the back of the neck and pulled down, though first, Stephanie thought as Jason moved towards her, she should probably take off her boots.

“Hang on,” Steph reached down and unzipped her boots, pulling them off and throwing them onto the floor beside the end of the bed. Jason still moved towards her, stepping close and then stopping before he was truly in her personal bubble.

“Turn around,” Jason murmured, and Steph obliged, turning and pulling her blonde hair to the side. Jason was gentle, unclasping the suit and pulling it down over her shoulders, so all she had to do was slip her arms out of it and pull it down the rest of the way. She turned to face him again, her breath hitching in her throat for a moment at their proximity. Jason was close enough to touch, close enough to kiss, close enough to count every scar that littered his torso. There was one she wanted to reach out and touch, directly over his heart, a thin stripe of white skin pulled taut over his chest. She refrained, looking up into his eyes instead. He was looking down at her with the same soft expression she’d grown used to in the past couple of months, an expression she couldn’t quite read, but found herself fond of all the same.

The light above them flicked, and then promptly went out, plunging them into darkness.

“Shit!” Stephanie jumped, looking up.

“It’s okay!” Jason grabbed her by the forearms, his grasp a reassuring presence. “The power’s just gone out. Because of the storm, I’ll bet.”

“I’m fine, I just wasn’t expecting it.” Stephanie shivered, remembering they had turned the heat off before they’d left for the evening. “Uh, Jason?”

“We turned the heat off,” Jason said, coming to the same realisation she did. “Fuck. Okay, um. Climb into bed.”

“Alright,” Steph agreed, slipping out of her suit and letting it fall to the floor, kicking it away from where the material pooled at her feet. She slid into bed in just her underwear and the black crop top she wore on patrol nights, shivering from the cold air coming in through the window.

Jason rummaged around in the bottom drawer of the nightstand, pulling out a flashlight from the depths of junk that had made its way into it over the past two months. He flicked it on, illuminating his face in dim light and dark shadow, and he made his way over to the window, pulling it closed and locking it from the inside. He took the flashlight in his hand and walked through the room, sweeping the light over the ground so he could make his way through it without tripping in the dark.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” Jason said as Stephanie pulled the covers up over her body. He disappeared from the room, leaving Stephanie in darkness once more, and returned a few minutes later with an armful of blankets from around the house, including the purple throw from off the couch and what appeared to be every blanket from their linen cupboard. He set the flashlight on the nightstand, casting the room in an eerie light, and began the slow work of throwing each blanket over the bed. He started with the purple throw, putting it over the heavy quilt on their bed, and slowly made his way through the pile of blankets, placing each one over the bed, finishing with a soft plush blanket that had been one of the many wedding gifts. Stephanie snuggled down into the nest-like pile of blankets, looking up at Jason with tired eyes.

“Come to bed,” she said quietly, and he nodded, walking around the bed to his side. He unzipped his kevlar jeans and pulled them off, tossing them aside, and climbed under the blankets. Steph immediately snuggled toward him, still shivering, and tucked herself under his left arm, getting as close as possible. She’d read somewhere, she idly thought, that skin to skin contact was the best way of minimising the risk associated with hypothermia.

She didn’t know how true it was, but it didn’t seem to matter once she was in Jason’s arms.

Jason pulled her closer, until she was practically on top of him, and held her, one arm supporting her back, the other resting on her upper arm. She kept one arm between them and laid the other across his bare chest, letting him pull the blankets over them until only their heads were exposed. He reached over and turned the flashlight off, letting the comforting darkness of night fall over them, and she snuggled in closer once more. She laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes, listening to the steady beat of his heart.

The wind howled outside as the blizzard continued, the snow falling heavily, but it couldn’t penetrate the safe little cocoon they’d made for themselves in their bed. Jason’s heart quickened as he looked down at Stephanie lying in his arms, her eyes drifting between closed and open as she struggled not to fall asleep. Her muscles ached from a night of crimefighting, though, and she soon succumbed to slumber, snoring softly against his chest. Jason closed his eyes, feeling a rush of adoration for her, and then he thought _oh, shit_ , because there was a chance - just a fleeting chance, but a chance nonetheless - that that adoration was something more, and he knew it. Jason Todd was in love with Stephanie Brown, and she could never love him back.

When he was sure she was in a deep enough sleep she wouldn’t wake, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead, breathing in the soft scent of her hair, the scent of lavender and jasmine that came from her shampoo, and the salty scent of sweat from a full night in the cowl. It was a scent you could never replicate, though he’d buy it if they ever could, because that soft scent meant something to him now - it meant home.


End file.
